Going Home
by i Mel-chan i
Summary: Post Ep.81 The Invasion of Konoha was a failure, now they must pay for it. Imprisoned, injured and separated, Temari and Kankurou must learn to rely on the person they feared the most, in order to make it home.
1. The Failed Mission

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**Disclaimer: **_Naruto _and its story, characters and setting belong to their respective owners.

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**Chapter I: The Failed Mission**

"I think its safe enough for us to stop," Kankurou spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. Temari took a quick glance behind her before nodding in agreement. They jumped among another tree branch before landing perfectly on the ground.

Night was falling in the wild forests of Konoha, and considering that this was their first time in Fire Country, the likelihood on staying on track in the dark was rather slim.

And right now they couldn't afford to get lost.

Gently, Kankurou set the unconscious Gaara onto the ground, staring at him for a moment before Temari's voice awoke him from his thoughts. He responded something to her, before turning away and walking in the opposite direction. "I'll set up camp, you treat Gaara's wounds."

"Be careful and don't go too far!" she called out; and then in a flash, Kankurou was gone.

Temari began to untie the robes that held the massive gourd on her youngest brother's back. When she attempted to pick it up, though, she found the massive weight unbearable, despite having been used to carrying her enormous fan. She struggled a bit, but was able to place the gourd beside her fan.

Pulling out a small first aid kit from her pouch, she began to clean the dry blood stains scattered on Gaara's forehead, but then paused as she briefly touched the 'Ai' kanji carved in his forehead, a strange fear settling over her.

What if he awoke angrily, yelling to be left alone and threatening to kill her? After all she still remembered how he violently shoved her aside again, just so she would stop shut up and let him fight that Uchiha boy.

She awaited for any form of reaction, but five minutes passed without him stirring. Five minutes passed without him stirring, so she continued.

A complete minute passed without him stirring, so Temari figured that it was safe enough to treat the wound on his head.

_I guess this is the only time Gaara'll need me, _she thought to herself.

Who would have thought something like this would have happened?

Months and months were spent on the preparations, the best shinobi were picked, alliances were formed; everything was set in motion for the invasion of Konoha. The council had send in their final votes and it was finally declared, about a month ago that Sand would be forming an alliance with Sound for a common purpose. Most of the Sand shinobi she was around with had laughed off that those Leafies were nothing but, lazy, carefree ninja with no talent whatsoever. They didn't have to worry about their never-ending battle against Mother Nature.

They didn't have to worry about the blazing sun and sandstorms.

They didn't have to worry whether there'll be enough crops for food.

They didn't have to worry about the hundreds and hundreds that were unemployed.

They didn't value water.

No. What did they worry about? Feelings and sided rivalry.

And she found herself agreeing with the other Sand shinobi that yes, Konoha was nothing but wimps that held silly grudges against each other.

But as the proctor declared Gaara's and Lee's match to begin, and as she saw that green-spandex boy moving throughout the arena so quickly that even the sand had trouble keeping up. And as that boy delivered a scratch onto Gaara's cheek and continued to throw Gaara around the room, she thought that maybe Konoha didn't quite fit into its stereotype. But that thought was thrown away because Gaara would never lose and she wouldn't lose either.

So why, was it again, that she lost her match against that Nara kid? The proctor announced that she was the winner, but she knew better than that. The only reason why he had given up was because he was simply too lazy to finish her off.

But that was only the beginning. Gaara had gotten seriously wounded, Kankurou was half dead, and now they, Suna's Best, The Kazekage's Children, and a carrier of Shukaku were defeated by Konoha lazy, carefree, emotional ninjas?

"_Blood! It's blood! I'm bleeding!"_ Gaara had cried out in hysteria, scaring her to the very core.

And it was at that moment that she finally realized it was truly a mistake to underestimate them.

A pair of feet dropped to the ground, and she looked up to see Kankurou carrying a small bundle of wood. He gathered some stones into a circle, and placed the wood neatly into the circle. He looked up at her noticing the troubled look on her face. "Still thinking about it?"

"I can't believe we lost. I mean everyone was practically saying Leafs were nothing, but big talk."

"Yeah," Kankurou said, taking out matches and lighting one up. "Guess you shouldn't believe everything you hear."

A small fire was finally made bringing a small sense of comfort in this chaotic world.

"Man, Baki's probably gonna kill us for suddenly disappearing like that," Kankurou groaned, shoving another stick into the fire.

"He'll understand," Temari pitched in. "We took Konoha way too lightly. I mean even Shukaku was defeated."

"Shukaku?" the puppet master asked shock spread throughout his painted face, but it was quickly replaced with fear. "_It_ came out?"

"Remember when we saw _it _transforming during the finals. Well, that Uchiha boy eventually caught up with me, and I guess Gaara lost control, but _it _started to transform again until it became its true form."

He quickly dashed to her side, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wild as if waking up from a terrifying nightmare. She shook her head, gently brushing him aide. "Of course, I'm alright,"

"No," he said shaking his head, "Are you alright?" he asked again. He wasn't asking about her physical state. To any other person it would have seemed like the same question asked, but Temari knew what her brother was asking. Having grown up close because of their father insensitivity towards them, they had their own language that only they could understand.

"Yeah, I'm alright," she said nodding, even though she couldn't stop her hands from shaking.

"Damn, I'm sorry I couldn't be there Temari," he said looking down at the forest floor, "But that fucking bug boy had me out cold," anger rising in his voice.

"Kankurou, don't worry about it. I told you I'm alright," she said putting a hand on his shoulder. "It was a long time ago." He looked up at her, seeing a genuine smile on her face.

"If you say so," he said shrugging. He looked at once more before turning his head towards Gaara, unconsciously curling his hands into fist. He walked back to his unfinished work, realizing how he wasn't there when he was needed.

Temari looked back at the unconscious form of Gaara, still her fear evident that Gaara would yell at her, or perhaps Shukaku would come bursting out, but within a minute of waiting she figured it was nothing but her imagination that was making the situation even more difficult. Carefully Temari lifted his red head slightly, pulling on the ends of the black shirt that he was wearing. Despite the dark shade of his shirt, she still could see even more blood stains underneath. She fiddling slightly trying to take his shirt off, half scared that he would wake up angrily, but since nothing happened she finally pulled it off.

Examining his chest, the blonde kunoichi saw small bruises on his milky white skin, however perhaps what stood out most was the large wound on his shoulder. It had turned an ugly sort of deep brownish colour. It didn't take a genius to figure out this was a sever burn. But based on the wound she was slightly surprised that it was not a regular burn caused by heat, but rather from something that was… electrical? Concern spread on her face at seeing the wound, it really must have been painful.

Cleansing it with water for a few minutes, she applied a bit of ointment to the wound. He winced slightly, but other than that remained motionless..

"Kankurou, we're going to have to move quickly. Gaara has a third degree burn, the longer it isn't probably treated the more chance of an infection."

"As soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning, were out of here," he said, treating his own wounds as well. And then several minutes later he asked in a small voice. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I think so…" Temari said uneasily.

It was odd, but this was the first time either of them was worry about Gaara. Most of the time they would worry for his sanity, but more than often they tried to ignore Gaara's strange muttering and get out of his way. Perhaps, it was because this was the first time he had ever been wounded, or perhaps it was because he had apologized to them. Either way, there was that tiny feeling within them that Gaara would be alright.

They probably should have left him, rotting deep in the forest, that's what any other person would have done. But they just couldn't.

It took another hour to finish treating each of their wounds. Temari had small bruises and burns on her arms; however Kankurou had a bit more extent wounds, namely insect bits all over his arms. His fingers looked completely terrible; apparently the insects had managed to bite them until they were raw red. It would take weeks for the skin to grow back and it would take even longer for use Karasu. When everyone was treated, Temari sat by the fire and took a sip of water from what remained in her canteen.

"Get some sleep Kankurou, I'll keep watch," she said, looking at the fire.

"Huh?" he said not expecting her to be keeping watch.

"Get some sleep," she repeated.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Besides you've been carrying Gaara all day. You must be tired."

"But Temari…"

"Look Kankurou, I'm your older sister so I'm supposed to take care of both of you and Gaara…. If anything happens I'll wake you, 'kay? Just get some sleep," she said giving him a smile to ease him worry.

"Alright," he gave in lying right across from the unconscious Gaara. "I've set traps so we'll know if anyone's approaching," he said pulling off his hat to reveal his brownish locks. "Don't stay up the entire night? Wake me up around midnight."

"Yeah, yeah, I can keep watch you know" she said watching her brother lying down, within a minute Kankurou was fast asleep.

"Good night, guys," Temari said looking at her brothers, thinking this would be the only time she would see them like this.

She didn't realize someone else was watching.

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	2. Mocking Bright Stars

Many thanks for the feedback. It really means a lot! Slight language and a bit of violence up ahead, just in case anyone's a little queasy.

Disclaimer: _Naruto_ and its character, setting, and plot belong to their respective owners. This was created out of pure entertainment.

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**Chapter II: Mocking Bright Stars**

"Wait!"

Temari awoke roughly to the sound of some owls hooting. For a minute the blonde kunoichi forgot where she was, but after seeing the tall green trees of Konoha, everything drew back to her.

Sighing to herself, the contents of her dream were quickly forgotten. It was more of a memory to be exact, a rather scary one since her heart was beating rapidly and goose bumps crawled all over her skin. But now the dream was forgotten, so what was the use in trying to remember it?

_I'm supposed to keep watch, not falling asleep, _she scowled at herself. Imagine if someone had come by, when they had their defensives down?

But the grasshoppers chirped merrily in the grass, while an owl hooted off in the distance giving off no feelings of danger. Despite what had happened a few hours ago, things were looking tranquil, and maybe the return home would run smoothly. Looking up at the forest sky, she gazed at the bright twinkles of the starry sky. It seemed so odd at that moment that anything could shine that brightly, especially after their failure. Almost as though the very cosmos were laughing at them; they were Suna's best, after all. Every mission was supposed to be a success, right?

Glaring at the stars, Temari sat down next to the fire, feeding the dying embers with some twigs Kankurou had brought back.

That's when she heard it. It was more like something stepping on leaves.

Pulling out a kunai, she approached the sound carefully until she reached the almost invisible string that Kankurou had set as a trap. Basically a dull set of strings covered the area; thus whenever the enemy would approach, there would be a dull ring signaling them that someone was near.

But as she inspected the trap, everything was perfectly in place. No one was approaching them.

And there it was! That crushing sound; judging from how it moved, it was heading her direction.

Whatever it was, it was close to their camp. Without a second thought, she threw the kunai at the oncoming thing.

And gasped out loud.

It was just a white rabbit.

_I got all scared over a fucking rabbit!_ She thought angrily to herself, putting her hand in her heart to keep it from beating so fast. This night was just making her paranoid that was it! Usually she would be able to tell the difference between animal footsteps and humans.

What was that?

_Thump. Thump._

Instantly her sharp ears sprung up to the location of the source.

_Don't tell me this is another rabbit!_

But as she listened closely to the fall of the footsteps, it was definitely a human being. Maybe it was a person that was lost in the woods, after all no ninja would be so loud. Either way she couldn't take a chance with that. Pulling out another kunai from her pocket she braced herself for the incomer.

_Thump. Thump. _

The footsteps were getting closer.

Pressing her ear on the ground, she felt the dull vibrations of the ground moving. A quick calculation and she could tell that the person was about 100 feet away, and it wasn't just one person.

_Can't take any chances of being seen,_ she thought to herself, dashing back to the campsite. Kankurou was still asleep and Gaara was still unconscious, maybe she could deal this without waking them up. Walking over to the dying embers, she threw some dirt on it, instantly killing the small fire. Now the entire place was surrounded in darkness.

Temari waited for a few seconds with the source of fire gone, the person would have no reason to approach them. Or so she thought.

_Thump. Thump. _

The person was still coming their way, obviously the person wasn't lost. She couldn't handle this by herself.

"Kankurou," she whispered to her brother. He simply continued sleeping. "Wake up you idiot!" she said kicking him in the ribs.

"Ow!" he winced in pain, immediately waking up to the dark forest. He could see his sister's silhouette form in a battle position. Survival skills kicked in immediatly.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. But listen."

_Thump. Thump. _

Sleep was long gone as he realized what it was that was coming their way. "How many?"

"Two I think," Temari said moving her eyes to the trap that Kankurou had set up as her evidence. He pulled out his own kunai trying to bite back the pain that came with having to bend his fingers to the cold metal.

"Get Gaara. We have to move fast," she whispered.

_Crack! _

"The footsteps are getting louder. Hurry and get Gaara we have to move quickly!" There was the sound of fast running.

In a dash Kankurou walked to the unconscious form of his brother. Just as he was about to put his arm around Gaara's unconscious form, he heard a kunai flying through the air. It was cancelled out by one of Temari's own kunai.

"Hurry up Kankurou!" Temari yelled out, fear evident in her voice. It was then that she realized the gravity of the situation. The enemy had all the advantage here, not only did they have the element of surprise, but they knew the land much better, so darkness wouldn't be that much of an issue.

They jumped back in the high trees not exactly knowing where they were going.

The enemy knew however, since just like that more kunai were being thrown at them.

Apparently the enemy was being quiet as they neared their campsite; all of a sudden there was the loud crashing of moving ninjas. Tree branches broke and the heavy thud of jumping on trees, echoed in the air. Followed by a _swoosh_ of flying kunai.

Drawing her fan, Temari threw a quick wave of wind, causing the kunai to miss their target.

"You go on ahead!" Temari said falling behind from her brothers.

"But Temari?"

"Damnit Kankurou, I'm you big sister you have to listen to me, got it?" she said angrily. "I'll catch up! Now hurry!" she called out waving her fan again and throwing the kunai on the forest floor.

Kankurou didn't argue there was no time for it. "You know I won't leave you behind!"

"Sure, just get out of here!" she said grinning at him. He nodded and continued to dash holding tightly onto Gaara.

Exhausted from the long run, Kankurou finally stopped in a small closing of trees. Gently putting Gaara on the ground, he looked at his own hands. They were still in bad shape and he knew right then that his chakra strings wouldn't last too long if he had to battle.

But what about Temari?

He heard her call out _Kamaitachi no Jutsu, _follow by the falling of tree logs as the chakra-created-vortex cut everything in its path. But was it enough?

He sighed. After all who would have thought they'd be in this mess? Moving his head up at the small spot of sky, he noticed the starry sky.

"Who would have thought this would happen, eh Gaara?" Kankurou asked to his unconscious brother. "Me and Temari risking our neck to save you," he laughed somewhat to himself. Gaara was practically invincible after all.

Kankurou waited for a few minutes in the darkness. Not sure whether he should go looking for Temari. After all how effective would it be to search for someone in the dark, and not to mention he doubt whether he'd be able to come back to this spot. He could go on ahead? But that was thrown in the back of his mind. There was no way he was leaving without Temari.

And so he listened in the darkness for anyone approaching.

_Thump! _

Automatically he threw a kunai at the sound.

"Relax it's me."

"Who?"

"Temari, you idiot!" Temari said huffing from having run so far. As she approached the moonlight, he saw the outline of her four pigtails.

"How do I know it's you?" Kankurou asked narrowing his eyes at her.

"When you were six you purposely set Baki's turban on fire" she said sitting down on the floor. She looked over at Gaara's form, how he was still unconscious after all this she would never know.

"Alright so it is you then," Kankurou replied crossing his arms and sitting right next to her. She grinned at her that typical smile she gives to everyone.

"I think we lost them," she said huffing some more. "After I used my _Kamaitachi no Jutsu_ they stopped their attack. I guess Konoha's shinobi aren't so tough after all," she grinned to her brother.

"Yeah but were lost!" he repeated looking around the forest.

"I think I have a map of the—AAGH!"

"Temari!" he yelled out. Turning his gaze to his sister, he watched in horror as he saw a silent needle stabbed deeply into her left arm.

"Fuck! I'm fine," she yelled out as she pulled the needle out from her arm, blood oozing. She threw her own kunai at the source, but only heard the knife hit a tree.

"Where are they?"

"They must have gotten ahead of us!"

"But how did they manage to get pass…" she paused looking in horror.

They must have gotten passed her when she had fallen asleep. Those shinobi that she just fought were probably nothing but fakes. She could have kicked herself then. How could she have fallen asleep when the lives of her and her brother have depended on her?

"Let's go," Kankurou said bending over to pick up Gaara. He so much as touched Gaara as he heard a heavy thud of people falling down into the forest floor. Both siblings looked over their shoulders to view five animal masked shinobi dressed in black and grey armor carrying a katana on their back. Through the moonlight, they could view spiral tattoos on their left arm.

It was Konoha's ANBU.

"Well if it isn't the Sand ninja?" the leader said stepping ahead of the group. He was wearing a white wolves' mask, but judging from his voice he was probably smirking at them. "You're not so tough now? Are you? As when you were during the Chunin exams. Back then you seemed so overconfident of yourselves; I guess our ninjas showed you. Because no matter what happened in the end, we still beat you. So why don't you come in quietly?"

"You should know Suna shinobi's are not easy to capture," Temari said to the leader, holding the wound in her arm. Pain surged up her brain at the cut flesh.

"We'll see then girl," the leader said, motioning his team to spread around them each of them drawing a weapon.

Drawing out their own weapons, the Suna shinobi gazed at the enemy that was before them. Without a doubt any ANBU from any village would be powerful enough, and to make matters worst there were five of them.

"I'll handle this," Temari said to Kankurou, opening her enormous fan to show the three violet moons.

_Fūsajin no Jutsu!_

Temari waved the gigantic fan to create gusts of dicing winds mixed in with sand. The leader stared incredibly at the Sand shinobi, they were wearing masks and there was no way she could disable them by 'throwing sand in their eyes.' All at once, the ANBU jumped up into the air each one of them throwing a weapon in her direction. The wind managed them to throw the flying kunai off course, but the justu did not damage one of the ANBU, instead her own body cried out in exhaustion and in pain.

Releasing Karasu from his bandages, Kankurou muttered a quick _Kugutsu no Jutsu_. And watched as thin blue chakra strings started to emerge from his fingertips. There was no doubt in his mind that the strings wouldn't be able to move so far, like they normally do.

"Kankurou you can't," Temari called outraged. His fingers were not healed yet, and by releasing chakra strings it would only take longer for them to heal.

"And leave you here to die? I'm not going to leave you behind!"

As the ANBU were left momentarily in the sky, Kankurou took the advantage of throwing of detaching one of Karasu's arms. The arm bent over backwards and a sea of sharp kunai came to greet the masked ninja. But they were prepared for this, throwing their own kunai the weapons clashed with one another and fell down on opposite ends. What they weren't prepared was that the marionette's other arm opened up behind them, gushing out more weapons than before.

A yelp of pain was heard as though that couldn't dodge it got hit. This was not all that was stored for them, as the remaining ANBU fell down back to the ground; they were taken by complete surprise and slipped as though they were walking on ice. The ground was covered in some slippery sand making it seem as though soap was spread.

_Kamaitachi no Jutsu!_

She called out while the enemy was covering from the surprise. A strong windstorm sliced through the remaining four ANBU members, roughly gathering them up into the chakra created tornado. Trapped within the vortex, sharp chakra blades begin to cut clothing and skin. It didn't last more than a few seconds, but the vortex subsided and the remaining four ANBU fell numbly on the floor. Karasu threw more blades at the numb bodies that dared to get up.

Breathing heavily, Temari put down her fan to hold out her left arm. The pain on her left arm had gotten even worse as she was holding her gigantic fan not only that a dull ache began to form in her temple.

"You alright?" Kankurou asked as he noticed Temari holding her head.

"Yeah, I think so," she said, closing her fan. "We have to get going. They'll be waking up soon."

He nodded and with a quick snap of his fingers Karasu was wrapped up back in his bandage.

_Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!_

Who would have thought that sound would bring a cold chill up their spin? Carefully Kankurou and Temari turned around to the empty forest floor.

"Shit!" Kankurou thought spinning his head around to the tall trees. "They were clones! We were playing into a trap!"

"Huh?" Temari blinked her teal eyes, holding her arm tighter. Things were becoming hazy and it was becoming harder and harder to think.

"That's right. We, Leaf shinobi, aren't that easy to fool," came the voice of the masked wolf's shinobi.

"Uh…" Temari gasped holding her arm even harder, blood trickling through her fingers. Her breathing was becoming more uneven and she was heavily sweating.

"You're not so confidence now, are you?" the leader said once again.

"Shut up!" Kankurou yelled back angrily, throwing a kunai in the direction where the voice came from. Another one came zooming back heading towards Temari.

"Temari! Move!" Kankurou yelled out. She couldn't even hear him, everything sounded so faint and distant. She held her arm even tighter, and felt her body being moved away.

"Don't just stand there!" Kankurou called angrily after using his chakra strings to move her out of harms way, but the anger was gone and replaced with fear as he saw her pale sickly face through the moonlight. She didn't respond, but stared at him for a few moments and then turned to view the unconscious form of Gaara.

The ANBU came out of the hidden trees and slowly approached the siblings.

Kankurou drew back approaching Gaara, Temari moving along with Kankurou's chakra strings just like a puppet. He pulled out another kunai as he was watched the ANBU took their time approaching. His fingers started to tickle in that feeling that signal he was almost out of chakra.

"If you withdraw we promise we won't kill you," the leader said realizing the young shinobi's situation.

Give up? That wasn't an option in his view. He looked around his surroundings. Large thick trees prevented him from getting away, even if he wanted. And if he did somehow manage to get pass them, the forest beyond was getting thicker and thicker making it difficult to see anything at all.

"C'mon Gaara! Wake up! We need you!" Kankurou said looking down at his closed black eyes. He could feel the chakra strings becoming thinner, making Temari slowly slouch down.

He gulped, they were getting closer. And just as things couldn't get worse, his last hope blew away.

The chakra strings gave out all together and Temari dropped down to the floor like a puppet.

"Temari!" he called out to her noticing how she kept holding her arm. Along with the mixture of her blood, there was something foreign on her tanned skin. It was poison. _Shit! The blade that hit her was poisoned! This was all a trap! Everything! From the time we heard the footsteps! They were trying to lead us here! _

"It's over!" the wolf's masked shinobi said.

_No it can't be over! There's no way--- _

By the time that the ANBU surrounded them, it was too late. Temari and Gaara were unconscious, while Kankurou couldn't even use Karasu with his messed up fingers even if he wanted to. He dropped his kunai on the floor and stared at the Leaf ninjas remorse written all over his face, but what else could be done?

"Alright, just don't hurt my siblings. I... I... withdraw," he said spitting out the words as though they were venom. He looked at the grassy floor, wishing more than anything that maybe those ANBU would change their mind and kill him in the spot. His pride was suffering a major blow right now and he didn't like the feeling at all.

"That's a good boy," the leader said. And then in a flash, one of the ANBU dash towards him hitting him squarely on the back of the head. As things became hazy he peered up at the starry night sky.

The stars were shining bright tonight.

As if mocking them, 'So this is how it's going to end? And they called themselves Suna's best?'

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A/N: Ooo, another cliffhanger! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, simply because of all the drama involved. Well I hope you enjoyed reading it as well. Until then.

_--Mel_


	3. Interrogation

Standard disclaimers apply. Warnings: slight torturing and language.

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**Chapter III: Interrogation**

The sound of footsteps brought Kankurou back to consciousness.

For a minute, he thought it was Gaara walking around aimlessly in the halls, while Temari would be downstairs falling miserably to make breakfast. But as his senses began to kick in and he took in his surroundings, he came with the morbid conclusion that he definitely not home.

_Where am I? _He thought taking in the dimly lit one-man cell. Solid concrete walls made up the room with no form of air circulation, making the room stuffy and hard to breathe. Perspiration and foul human odors filled the room. There were no windows to cleanse out the smells, and if it weren't for the light bulb above the ceiling, then it would have been pitched black. Kankurou was lying in the middle of the room, face down on the dirt floor, arms twisted under his body; shifting his arms he felt a wave of pain coming from his hands. Again he moved his arms, and that same prickling feeling coursed through him, almost as a needle was digging its way along its flesh.

And then everything came flashing back: Gaara's injury during the Finals, his fight against the bug-nin, the retreat from Konoha, the ambush from Konoha's ANBU, Temari's injury, and the capture...

_Damn, they took Karasu…_ Everything was taken: passports, water, weapons. And after robbing them, he was left tied up in this filth and shit, like some pig. To think a great puppet master like himself would be forced to crawl around in the dirt.

To make matters worse his legs were bounded with rope, so it took a bit of time crawling against the wall and then leaning against it.

_Temari… _

Again there was that prickling feeling, sharper this time and much more painful. He looked down to his hands feeling a set of black, sharp needles digging into his left thump and index finger. _Oh fuck this is bad! _A wave of panic spread through him as he saw the worst enemy of a puppeteer.

Just them the door opened before him, filling the room with natural light. Two men appeared by the doorway both of them wearing the typical green chuunin vest and the Leaf Village headband.

"You awake?" One of them said bending over to look at Kankurou. "Damn boy, you've been asleep for almost two days! Does Sand spend-- Oww! "

"Yeah, I'm awake, and who the hell are you?" He responded, affectively kicking the man under the chin through is bonded legs. Sensing the trouble, the man's partner ran to his side kicking Kankurou to the side in case he could have escaped.

"You brat!" the injured man said, holding his jaw. "You should be thankful you're still alive!"

"You still haven't answered! Who the hell are you? And where's my team!" the Sand shinobi asked from the floor.

"We're the one's asking the questions," the man that kicked him said. Performing a quick jutsu to his bounded legs, he roughly lifted Kankurou to his feet and pushing him to the doorway.

"We're going for a little walk, so don't even think about doing anything!"

----

Yugao Uzuki sat at the interrogation room, arms crossed over her chest. She was a beautiful, powerful woman with violet hair and dark blue eyes, and a position of Konoha's ANBU. Lately though, she didn't look as beautiful with her tired eyes and pale face. ANBU had been mobilized and dispatched to bring in any lurking Sand or Sound ninja to get any possible information concerning the whereabouts of Orochimaru. Konoha Invasion was roughly two days ago, and the council was angry at the one responsible for their heavy losses. But so far very few enemy shinobi had been captured and those that did knew nothing him.

Normally, interrogation was not part of her job, she just gathered them up. But according to Aoba, a team of ANBU had been scouting the forest when they came upon the three Sand genin that appeared during the Chuunin Exams. He had remarked that he was very surprised by their strength, considering that they were so young and genins at that; but Yugao paid no attention to their praise, she had other plans in mind. Anxious Yugao requested her captain to allow her with the genin's interrogation. These genin had a connection with Baki, and she swore on her lover's grave that she would avenge him.

The door opened and two guards walked in, the Sand genin walking silently in front of them. He was tall dressed in black and violet face paint with the Sand's symbol shining brightly on his forehead. He didn't say anything, but simply sat down across from her, not looking terrified, but rather bored. Clearly Sand shinobi were great charlatans.

"I have a few questions for you," Yugao began getting straight to the point. "If you answer them properly, then perhaps will negotiation your sentence."

"Sure thing," he said, a smirk appearing in his face. "My favorite color's—"

"I'm not asking for those things!" she said angrily bringing her hands down roughly on the table top. "Right now everything is a complete mess because of you guys, so I'm not in the best of moods!"

"I could tell…" Kankurou answered rolling his eyes.

"You were involved in this whole mission. Sand and Sound were allies in the invasion of Konoha. Where is Orochimaru?"

He shrugged.

That just got her even more upset. "Stop playing games with me! I don't need your pathetic humor!"

"Who said I was playing games? I don't know who this Orochimaru guy is."

"Obviously everything was carefully plan, and you're telling me you don't know who the one behind it was?"

"Pretty much," Kankurou responded tone the exact opposite of his interrogator.

She glared at him with her gray eyes; he seemed all oblivious to this. But he did notice when she smiled wickedly at him. "A puppeteer like you should know what this is?"

This time he didn't give her a smart mouth comment. Of course he knew. He had been rigorously trained as a puppet master, and had consequently acquired the most dangerous and ingenious puppet by the greatest puppet master in all of Suna. He recounted stories and various books that described a puppeteer's worst enemy.

"It's a thumbscrew," she responded slowly as though he didn't know. "One of the many instruments that Konoha's ANBU Torture and Interrogation Squad possess. I prefer to demonstrate things rather then explain them," she said lifting her hands up from the table. Putting her thumb and index finger together, she turned it slowly to the left. The thumbscrew worked best if it was done as slowly as possible and that was exactly what she was going to do.

The thumbscrew was literally a vise set between the fingers, and liked a true vise when you start twisting the knob the walls started to come together. In an instant he felt the pain that he had been dreading.

Kankurou tried to not show the pain he felt as the needles on either side of his thumb and index finger dug into his flesh. But as the seconds past, he realized he couldn't keep a yell of pain escape his lips.

"Not so funny now are you?" she said enjoying his pain slowly turning her fingers to the left.

The walls of the thumbscrew started to move closer together. Slowly his fingers were turning into a deep bluish color, like when a finger gets smashed against the door. What felt worse was the needles that were not under his fingernails. He dared a look at his hands and saw in horror as his fingernail was painfully being torn off from its roots.

"You crazy bitch!" he yelled out wanting to land a blow on her, but the guards were quick to his side and held him down.

…_Cr…ack…_came the sickening sound as the fingertip bones started to feel the pressure surrounding them.

"Not until you answer my question! Where is Orochimaru?"

"Bitch, I told you I don't know! This was all a highly classified mission! We didn't find out about this until a few weeks before the Chuunin exams!"

She stopped, and stared at the boy. _So they were blindly following orders_, she thought. "Where are the rest of the Sand and Sound shinobi? Where did they retreat to?"

Kankurou huffed, pain receptors running to his brain. He couldn't answer this question; he'd never forgive himself if he betrayed Suna. "I don't know. We assumed it was a clear victory, so we never discussed the retreat."

She wasn't buying this. Again she moved her fingers together, bringing the walls closer together. This thing was going to complete destroy his fingers.

"A bit cocky, you Sand shinobi are?"

He let out another yell of pain as he felt more blood gushing from the opened fingernail.

"Well, we Sand shinobi aren't so weak," he answered, his hands covered in his blood.

Yugao Uzuki glared at him. "Funny thing to say, considering that you're captured and your comrades have abandoned you. Tell me this and I might not crush all of your fingers... a man with a turban covering the left side of his face, Baki was his name. Was he your sensei? "

"What the hell does this have to do with anything?" he asked relieved that the pain was finally over.

"Answer it!"

"Yeah, Baki was my sensei, since I was six. What of it?"

"What of it?" she said outraged. "He killed him! He… killed Hayate," she said softly stopping from her torturing. "We were going to get... married..."

"It's because of you!" she said rising from her chair and throwing a hard punch on his face. It was with so much force that he was thrown of his seat and crashed to the floor. "You killed Hokage-sama and Hayate!"

Fallen on the floor, she quickly picked him up by the collar glaring at him with pure venom.

"I swore his revenge!" She muttered grabbing a quick kunai and pulled it under his neck.

"Look lady _I_ didn't kill the Hokage or that proctor!" Kankurou answered bravely, despite the somewhat insane look in her eyes. "He was probably dying already!"

She didn't like that response, pushing the kunai to his neck to start drawing blood, the ANBU was about to stab the kunai deep within his neck until it came out of the other side of his throat...

"Yugao you really shouldn't be so violent," a deep baritone voice said amusedly walking to the front door. "Like the boy says, you shouldn't be putting all the blame on him. He shouldn't be persecuted and discriminated for being a Sand shinobi."

The violet-haired women threw him to the ground. "All Sand shinobi are the same," she muttered before walking out and slamming the door loudly behind her.

Kankurou cough violently from the ground saliva and bits of blood falling into the white, tile floor.

"I apologize for Yugao. You see she cared deeply for Gekko Hayate, and he was killed by your sensei."

"Oh yeah that gives her a perfect reason for killing me," Kankurou said sarcastically. "Psycho." He looked up to see a tall dark man dressed in a long black overcoat. Scars ran all over his face, while a Leaf Village headband covered his bald head. "You're the examiner, Morino Ibiki, was it?" Kankurou said out loud as the tall dark man entered

He smiled even though it couldn't exactly be called one, considering all the scars in his face. "I'm glad you remember me."

_Yeah, I remember you,_ Kankurou thought to himself, remembering the written portion of the Chuunin Exams. _He messes with people's head. _

"Unlike Yugao, I really don't like these things," he said referring to the thumbscrew, taking into notice his bleeding fingers. With a quick jutsu, the torturing device was quickly gone. The very needles that had made their way deep into his flesh were yanked out of his skin making him growl softly at the pain. Like a shovel being pushed into the earth and water came flowing out, blood flew out of the opening, dripping to the floor.

He looked at the damage of his two fingers. Who would have thought that they would have brought him so much pain? His fingers hurt like a bitch right now and his fingernail was practically falling off his skin, but what he feared most was that he now couldn't use two of his fingers to form chakra strings, Karasu would be defective now.

"Kankurou, was it?" Ibiki said sitting down on the chair where Yugao sat moments ago. "Please take a seat," he said with formality.

Again Kankurou stared at him, eyes narrowing in suspicions.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. I just want to talk." Hesitantly, Kankurou sat down, still on edge.

"I was very impressed by your performance in the Chuunin Exams. So young, and yet your fighting style and techniques don't resemble the typical genin. From what your stats shows you've already done A-rank missions?"

He nodded.

"My, my quite impressive." he answered as though he was talking to an old friend. "I… did a bit of research in my spare time. Sand shinobi mostly consist of family squads. Siblings and cousins are trained together and then put under the same squads. So your current teammates are your brother and sister, is that right?"

His body was not bounded anymore, so he could freely attack, but the idea didn't seem as great as he looked at the three guards, as well as Ibiki in the room. They had weapons not to mention two of their fingers weren't crushed. It was best to humor him. "That's right," he answered not wearily not sure where Ibiki would be going with this.

"You're team happens to be called the Kazekage's Children," he stated more than asked.

_So this is where he's getting at?_

"Look, Kazekage-sama wouldn't care if you put us under ransom. So you might as well forget about it," he answered bitterly. "He didn't even come to our graduation ceremony, what makes you think he'll come and save us?"

"By your tone of voice I see that you don't like him."

"I just don't care about him."

"The Kazekage has completely disappeared from Konoha. Aren't you wondering what happened to him? He is your father, after all."

"Not really," he answered emotion taking over. "He never cares about us, so we never cared about him. We complete the mission, and if that's good enough for him that's good enough for us."

"By 'we' do you mean your teammates, I mean your siblings?" he asked curious.

"We all felt the same way towards him; except for Gaara I think he even hated him even more than both of us," Kankurou said nonchalantly remembering how Gaara had always looked at the Kazekage as though he had wanted to kill him, except when they were in Konoha he thought.

"_Gaara, you do realize that Kazekage-sama was upset about your behavior," Kankurou said walking along side Gaara as they approached the final Chuunin Exams. The Kazekage had come to pay them a visit during the late hours of the night. _

"_Kankurou," Temari whispered to Kankurou as if telling him to drop the subject. Gaara had not bowed when the Kazekage entered their room that showed an ultimate form of disrespect. _

"_The man deserves no respect," Gaara answered keeping his eyes on the road. "Besides that wasn't him."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_That wasn't him. His eyes were more sinister than usual." _

"I think Gaara knew that the Kazekage in the Chuunin Exam was an imposter."

Ibiki shifted slightly taking all this in account.

"It must be frustrating to have no mother, a neglecting father, and a demented brother, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Kankurou muttered looking to the tabletop.

"After all... what is it that you're fighting for? Your father will never acknowledge you, he'll always see Gaara no matter how much stronger you'll get. And you'll probably never match up against him."

He didn't respond.

"Suna has always living in the past. Maybe it'd be best if it came to present. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess."

"Gaara seems to have an important connection to the village, am I right? Perhaps, even more so than any regular shinobi, but what is that?"

"Kazekage-sama…" he paused finally realizing what he was about to say. He had been warned against this. The existence of Shukaku was highly classified and it was with great strain that the Kazekage kept Gaara's identity a secret.

"I know what you're trying to do! You're trying to make me backstab my village, but you know what that's not going to work. I'd be dead before I became a traitor!" He answered angrily.

"No you're missing my point," Ibiki said. "I saw Gaara fight against Rock Lee and against Uchiha Sasuke. He has an enormous amount of power, but that could be dangerous. I'm worried not just for my village, but yours as well. I mean something so powerful could very well destroy an entire village. If you were to just tell us more about him... "

Kankurou remained silent.

Ibiki sighed. "What is it that you're hiding? It's a win-win situation for all of us. Gaara maybe your brother, but he does not treat you as one. I believe he threaten to kill you... I thought you hated him?"

"It's true," he said thinking back. '_I don't really consider you my siblings… if you get in my way, I will kill you, too,' Gaara had said ruthlessly, slowly moving his hand in front of him getting ready to crush him with his sand. _

"But it wasn't because Kazekage-sama acknowledged him, or that he killed mother. Hell, I don't even care that he's stronger than me... I... I hate him... It was because he… he made Temari cry," he said head bowed down as he remembered that event that happened so many years ago—of sand and blood and screams; and him standing completely useless as he watched his older, much stronger sister dissolving into a vulnerable heap on the floor.

"Very well. And you know nothing about Orochimaru?"

"I told your friend I know nothing about him. One day two Sound shinobi came to the Kazekage's office, one had glasses the other was wearing a long black cloak. That's all I know."

"Orochimaru had everything carefully planned, even going so far as fooling an entire village. He probably took out the Kazekage," Ibiki thought going over the information in his head.

"Hey!" Kankurou asked angrily as he saw Ibiki standing up. "I answered your stupid questions. So where are Temari and Gaara?"

Ibiki kept walking towards the doorway.

"Hey! Answer me!"

"They're dead."

"W-what?" Kankurou asked completely bewilder at what the man said.

"You heard what I said," Ibiki responded turning to look at him. "Gaara had his entire defenses down, so it was no problem getting rid of him. I just asked about him because I was interested in his behavior during the finals. As for Temari, the poison killed her off."

"You're lying! They can't be dead!" he said although his own voice was shaking with fear.

"Take a look at this," he said throwing two headbands on the table. One was a deep blue color while the other was black both of them had the Sand Village symbol carved on the headband. Slowly with his left hand he picked the blue neck one. There was no doubt about it. These really were Temari's and Gaara's headbands.

"You're... lying," he repeated.

"Poor boy still in doubt," Ibiki said frowning at him. "Both of them were strong shinobi and to think the only time both of them really needed you. You backed off. You couldn't save them. Hmm…" he said smiling at him. "It's funny because you mentioned that Suna doesn't have weak shinobi. I guess you forgot to count yourself."

The puppeteer looked at the jounin a hint of surprise in his face. He held his smashed fingers together no longer taking notice of the blood and the pain.

"Put him back in his cell," he said closing the door behind him. "You're going to be there for a while, kid. Considering that Suna doesn't care too much for its captured shinobi."

The guards took a hold of him and with another jutsu bounded his hands together. They pushed him towards the doorway, and for once Kankurou didn't protest.

**

* * *

**

**A/N:** Thumbscrew, also known as the pilliwinks, is an actual medieval torturing instrument used by the Inquisitors; it is also used on the toes and larger one's can crush your joints.


	4. Sand's Way

* * *

**Chapter IV: Sand's Way**

"Status Report," Baki firm authoritative voice rang through camp. It was a little pass noon, the time during the day when the desert heat started to become unbearable, so naturally the small group of Sand shinobi had stop under a cool canyon wall to take a break.

Most of their faces were grim and silent as they treated wounds and drank water. Right now everyone wanted to get home, and this break was more nerving than relaxing.

"Most of our units have arrived to Suna," a messenger responded appearing to his left.

"Good," Baki nodded, walking pass some medic ninja that were working on several cripple shinobi.

"How is our water supply?"

"There is enough for another day. We should make it to Suna in another two days."

"We'll need to pick up speed," he muttered more to himself. "Any word on Kazekage-sama?" he asked not flinching that the guy he had just walked by was missing a left arm.

"No. A search team is expected to search for him."

"I see," Baki said stopping in his tracks and looking beyond the sand dunes. He knew that was a lie and that search team was probably still in Suna, experiencing some 'delays.' The council was probably dancing in joy at the turn of events. Of course they were upset about their lost numbers, but now the council had been given temporarily power of the village, and there was no way they were going to give up this power so soon.

To say the least, the Yondaime Kazekage was not the most popular among his council. His popularity had been slowly deteriorating ever since his devastating proposal of making Gaara Suna's trump card. When it became clear that they boy could not control the sand demon suddenly the idea seemed ludicrous, and ironical Suna had created their own downfall instead of preventing it. This invasion of Konoha was the last chance for the Kazekage to fix the strained relationship between the council, but now Baki wouldn't be surprised if he was kicked out of his own country.

He sighed. This was all a complete mess; the balance of power has been disrupted, and it was mere luck that Konoha hadn't decided to invade Suna. They needed to act immediately.

"Tell the council that I am requesting a team to carefully patrol the border. We are the last forces that have retreated from Konoha. As soon as we make it to Suna, I want all of our borders closed."

"Hai!" the messenger said saluting at his superior.

"Also, tell Temari and Kankurou I want them to join a team and join the border patrol as well. I'll be meeting with them—"

"But sir," the messenger interrupted. "Temari-san and Kankurou-san still haven't return to Suna."

"What?" Baki asked outraged. "They left before we did! They should have been home two days ago!"

"A count was made," the messenger said taken aback by his superior's tone. "About less than half of our troops returned from Konoha. The Kazekage's Children were not present in the count. They have been declared missing-nin since yesterday."

"Sir, Konoha's ANBU have been deployed throughout the Land of Fire, and they are taking in any prisoners."

Baki stopped in his tracks silent looking pass the sand dunes.

It would take another two days to reach Suna and with the water shortage, along with the injured shinobis they couldn't wait any longer. He had to act.

Closing his eyes a picture of his three students came to mind.

_He did it because his student was precious to him?_ Temari had whispered after watching Gai stop the deadly sand from finishing off Rock Lee. It wasn't only Gaara that was surprised by this behavior, but Temari and Kankurou were shocked by this affectionate behavior, as well.

Growing up in the desert, Sand shinobi and Suna's customs had grown practically inseparable, especially hierarchy. The uttermost respect would be shown to a shinobi of higher ranks, especially in the relationship between a student and a teacher. According to them, a teacher is not supposed to feel anything for his students. They should be kept as emotionally neutral as possible, avoiding any bonds with his students, because eventually the student and teacher would separate either in battle or in their own paths.

If a student were to be killed the teacher would replace him, and if the teacher should be killed then the student would replace him. But that guy? Sure he behaved like a complete fool with that ridiculous attire and words, but he still shoved his nose into his student's battle. He shouldn't have done that. It should have been the standard procedure, he loses a student, and he quickly replaces one, simple. But he saved him.

That was another thing that made Sand and Leaf so different. A teacher would _never_ do something like that.

He sighed.

Those kids sure put him in a lot of hell. He'd taken Temari and Kankurou as his students when they were about seven years old and immediately realized they were spoiled rotten. How many times did he get whines, tantrums, and the usual pranks? However that was in the beginning, within time he'd train them to death and eventually they'd stop their whining and became one of Suna's best.

He'd known Temari and Kankurou when they were small children, but Gaara became his 'student' when he was ten years old even though there was practically nothing that he could teach him. Gaara aced the Genin Exams with no problem and completed mission without any hassle. But still they were his students.

"Sir?" the messanger asked carefully watching his superior. It seemed as though he had a conflict within himself.

"Tell the rest of the camp we're leaving by sunset. We're picking up speed and traveling through the night. This is… this is the last day we wait for anyone from then on they're on their own."

"Hai!" The messanger answered running in the opposite direction.

----

He was used to it. Death was nothing new to him. His mother and uncle had died when he was younger, and he'd gotten all dressed up and gone to the funeral with Temari. But where he was supposed to be mourning, he found himself yawning every few minutes in complete boredom. His nanny had forced him to come, and he remembered complaining and whining that he didn't want to go.

_They're dead. _

_Both of them were strong shinobi and to think the only time both of them really needed you. You backed off. You couldn't save them._

So why was it that a part of him ached? It felt deeper than any stabbed wound he received, and yet Ibiki had used no physical force.

Lying on the dirt floor, Kankurou knew what it truly felt like to mourn for someone. Not just dressing up and standing by a tomb holding flowers for the decease, but to truly feel a lost.

He never thought this would happen.

Somewhere along the line, he'd come to believe that his team was invincible. After all with Gaara, it isn't too far off to think about that. Every mission the Kazekage gave them would be done easily, with record timing and no sweat. But apparently his team was no more invincible than anyone else; his just had a prolonged failure.

The sound of metal rattled against the floor brought him back to his cuffed hands. Blood was still oozing from the broken skin, and his two crushed fingers had turned a pallid blue, while sending stabs of pain to his brain. He supposed there should be some concern over his imperiled hands, but oddly enough he couldn't care less.

The guards had bounded his hands again with thick heavy chains making them rattle whenever he moved. Two days had passed, and he hadn't heard anymore interrogations, which meant that they had gotten all the information that they wanted, or perhaps they were just letting him rot in the prison with the rats. To be honest Kankurou didn't care what Konoha was thinking or what had been going on outside, he just wanted to be left alone to his own thoughts.

_Temari…_

It pained him more to think that his sister was dead than of a smart and strong kunoichi.

Both of them had grown up together, not as normal siblings would. Their mother had died when they were just forming memories of her, while their father completely neglected them when he was handing out missions. Then there was the constant fear that their little brother might have a tantrum one day and simply kill them off.

Yes, they did have a highly dysfunctional family, but that abnormality only brought him and his sister closer together.

Granted they weren't the happy and cheerful siblings in stereotypes. No they fought. A lot. Either verbally or physically.

But in the end, they would fix each other's wound, treat the other out, and then laugh about the whole ordeal. They couldn't stand each other, but they were still inseparable.

He closed his eyes. He loved her, and now she was gone. Maybe if he had them closed he would simply forget everything…

"_Kankurou?"_

"_Temari?" he asked sitting up on his bed. "Are you feeling better?" _

"_A little bit," she said softly. "What about you? You skipped dinner again."_

"_I'm not hungry," he simply responded, even though it was almost a week since he last ate anything. _

_Moving slightly to the left of the bed, he watched as Temari crawled next to him and shifted to the right to give her some space. She sat back on the bed, and for one rare moment both siblings were quiet. _

"_I'm scared," she finally said looking up at the dark ceiling. _

"_I don't see what you're so scared about. It's just a new house." It was already three days, since the Kazekage ordered them to begin their training as shinobi. They had been taken away from the palace they used to reside in, all their toys were gone and overnight the two seven-year-olds were force to grow up. There would be no more nannies, but a sensei to teach them how to become strong shinobi because with the comings of being the Kazekage's children they were expected to be the best. _

"_I'm not a big baby like you!" she said angrily. "It's… about '_it_'?"_

_Kankurou kept quiet, not thinking that there was anything funny when it came to _'it'_. He didn't know when they had started to call the demon that resides in their youngest brother as it, but whenever one of them would say the other would understand. It was almost as if the word Shukaku was taboo_

"_Whenever I close my eyes I still see its eyes," she said._

"_It's alright Temari," he said snuggling into her. "We'll just have to make sure we get stronger…." _

"_Yeah," she nodded holding on to him. "It took away Mama, and hurt Kazekage-sama. W-what if it takes me away?" she said softly. _

"_Who'd wanna take you? I mean your too loud and bossy—oww!" _

"_Baka!" she said angrily having kicked his shin roughly under the covers. "I'm still older than you!" _

"_So?" he said angrily, pulling on her pigtails. She yelled out in pain, but in retaliation by poking him in the eye. _

"_You have to respect your elders!"_

"_Well I'm taller!" _

_Temari pouted, not coming up with any argument. _

"_Baka!"_

"_Bossy!"_

_She narrowed her eyes at him and put as much distance as she could between them without falling off the bed. But within a few minutes, after making sure Kankurou was asleep, she snuggled right next to him and slowly drifted off to sleep. _

"_I'll get stronger for you, Temari," he whispered, peering over her closed eyes. "Both of us will get strong. That way you'll… never cry again… and nobody can separate us, not even Kazekage-sama." _

_He put his hand under the pillow feeling the outlines of an old kunai he had found. If only Kankurou could believe his own words, then he wouldn't have to fall asleep with an eye open. _

For a minute he expected to see Temari sleeping beside him, to hear Baki's loud voice waking them up early in the morning, to hear the tabbing on the window of sand colliding with glass, but he didn't see any of this. Instead he saw the surrounding darkness and the cold cell walls.

He tried hard to fall asleep again, to simply ignore the world around him and live in the memories of the past. Life seemed so useless right now and he was just tired of it all. Temari was gone, Baki wasn't coming, and so he would just give up; give up and sleep and dream until hunger became starvation and eventually death.

He pushed his head up against the wall. The sudden movement caused his hat to fall on the floor, and the metal headband to cling as it touched the floor. He didn't know why he turned it over, it just came instinctive, or why he was staring so long at the simple hourglass.

Kankurou didn't know why he spent over five minutes staring at the symbol that was carved so carefully on that stretch of metal. _Always remember the three most important values to a Sand shinobi, _Baki had said long ago when he and Temari were beginning their training._Whenever you're in a position that you just want to give up, always remember the three most important values. _

"Yes," he said out loud, his voice a bit hoarse from lack of use. "Yes. I remember."

He placed the hat carefully aside, a surge of energy growing inside him, a new goal formulating in his head. The puppeteer looked at his cuffed hands. The metal had been specially design to disturb the flow of chakra and the creation of jutsus, but was a little bit loose on his wrist. For several minutes, Kankurou studied the cuffs through the dim light trying to find a hind, but had no luck in the process.

There was a loud squeaking at the front of the door, and Kankurou looked with disgust as a large black rat finished the stale bread that had been brought to him days ago. The animal sniffed at the floor until it reached the wall and somehow managed to squeeze itself through a crack.

Kankurou looked at his hands again. The thumbscrew was gone, so he had the ability to somewhat move his hand. Carefully he brought his crushed fingers under the metal, and began to push, overlooking the shots of pain that kept racing back to his head. He pushed again, harder this time, and within time managed to free his hand.

The simple action had him sweating and panting with exhaustion, but he didn't give up just yet. He looked at his other uninjured hand for a minute.

Then putting his little finger against the wall he pushed on top of it violently. It felt as though someone was cracking a twig apart. He bit his bottom lip to prevent himself from yelling in pain.

Pride, the village, and family; these were the greatest assets that any Sand shinobi could possess. Ever since he was young he was taught the importance of them. He was taught to eliminate an enemy if he was underestimated or mocked. He was taught that the village matter before one's own life. He was taught to make Suna proud.

And he was taught one should always honor their family.

He pushed on his little finger again until he felt the fracture of his bone.

"No matter what happens," he said softly ignoring the pain. "I promise to return to Suna with my…"

He paused as a torn, broken down figure came to his mind.

"Both," he corrected himself, somewhat slipping his hand from the cuffs. He banged his finger again causing the tiny bones to break even more until the point where the bone struck out from the flesh. "Both my siblings," he gasped trying to ignore the pain.

"And if… if they are dead…. I'll take their corpses to our homeland… and give them a proper funeral. So… they can rest in peace and not rot in this shit. I'll take both of them home."

* * *

_--Mel_


	5. Childhood Memories

**Chapter V: Childhood Memories **

"Yashamaru, why are we here?" Gaara asked timidly as he looked up at the magnificent two-store building. Long stairs lead to a raised high base, dominated by beautifully carved columns, while large rectangular glass windows adored the entrance. As though that wasn't enough a tall wide wooden door stood in the center as if challenging anyone that came in.

"Well Kazekage-sama, is too busy to train you at home. So he has requested that we meet in his home instead," his uncle said smiling down at him, though he was not greeted with a smile.

"More training?"

"I know Kazekage-sama may be a bit tough on you, but he does it for your own good," Yashamaru continued after seeing the disappointed look on the child's face. "You are very special to the village, Gaara-sama."

But still the five-year-old didn't respond with too much enthusiasm. About six months ago, Gaara had begun an intense training; however things were not progressing as the Kazekage would have hoped. The child still had trouble controlling his abilities, and as a result the Kazekage had recently stepped in to personally train his son.

Two guards stood solemnly, one on each side of the massive doors, their hitate shining dimly in the bright sun. They humbly greeted the pair as they walked into palace, opening the doors and informing that Kazekage-sama was expecting him.

The two walked in, surprised by the sight that greeted them.

If the building outside was beautiful than inside was magnificent. Bright rich colors covered the spacious interior with elegant mosaic stained windows and white polished marble floors. A spiral staircase led to the upper rooms. The view was sharpened by the high round ceiling that surrounded the palace with bright natural light.

"Yashamaru, is that you?" came a sweet voice from above the staircase. The blond medic turned his head and smiled happily as he saw a little girl quickly dashing towards him. "It is you!" she said happily wrapping her arms around him and giving him a hug.

"Temari!" he said happily holding the child. "You've gotten so much bigger since I last saw you."

"Of course, I have Yashamaru!"

He smiled at his niece. It really was such a long time since he last saw her, almost two years ago. "Where's your brother?"

"Kankurou? He's playing with his new bamboo snake," she answered leading her uncle by the hand to the living room. A large Persian carpet covered the floor with red sofas on either side; again more mosaic windows decorated the room. "Mana, get us some tea!" she ordered to the maid that stood behind her.

"That won't be necessary Temari-chan we're here to see your father."

"Oh. Kazekage-sama is in his study. I could take you there if you want," she said eagerly.

"It's alright I can find my way," he looked over at Gaara that had been hiding ever since he saw the older girl. "You stay here with Temari-chan alright, Gaara-sama?" The child looked at him with pleading eyes not to be left alone, but Yashamaru merely patted his head and left the two children together..

"Hi!"

"Me?" he asked unsure if the person was talking to him.

"Who else would I be talking to?"

"I don't know," he said shyly hugging the brown teddy bear tightly. "Not a lot of people talk to me, except for Yashamaru."

"How come?"

"I don't know," he said shyly hugging his brown teddy bear tightly.

"Well I guess I will. I'm Temari. I'm your big sister, ya know," she said proudly.

"You're my big sister?" He asked looking at her with wide eyes.

"Yup, I'm seven years old," she said holding out seven small fingers. "You also have a big brother, but he's not older than me!"

"I have a big brother and a… sister?"

"Uh-huh. Kankurou, come here!" she yelled out, her voice echoing in the palace. Within a few minutes a boy came from behind her. He was a bit taller than Temari with dark brown locks and cheeks slightly flushed from having been running in his hands was a long wooden object that had many bends, sort of resembling a snake. "What is it Temari? How am I ever going to be a puppeteer if you never let me practice!" he said crossly.

"You've been playing with that thing all day!" she said angrily. "Besides how are you ever going to become a puppeteer by playing with a toy?"

He made a loud raspberry at her; Temari put a finger in her eye and opened it at him. Little Gaara just stared at the two kids not sure if he should say anything to them, but after a few minutes of making faces at each other Temari finally remembered the younger child.

"Wait Kankurou!" she said putting her hands up. She slowly approached Gaara. "This is Gaara, he's our little brother!"

"Really?" Kankurou asked forgetting his irritation at his sister. He spun his head to view the younger red-head child. "Yes! I'm not the youngest anymore…! But wait a minute, how come he has different hair color?" he asked looking at the red locks of the small child. Feeling self conscious, the younger child covered his head with his hands.

"Leave him alone Kankurou!" Temari said angrily, shoving him aside. "…We've heard a lot of stories about you Gaara," Temari explained. "Our nanny told us that you're very special to the village."

Kankurou nodded in agreement. "She said you're very strong and we should be nice to you if we ever meet you." He took a quick look at the small redheaded child; in contrary to what they had been informed, Gaara didn't look all that imposing, clutching his brown bear and staring at his feet.

"C'mon Gaara," Temari said grabbing a hold of his hand. She led him outside to a small courtyard with a large round water fountain in the middle. Long arches and plants provided shade and cool fresh air from the harsh desert environment. This must have been they're play area, since the gray stone floor was littered with various toys.

Kicking the toys aside, Temari grabbed a long rope and showed it to Gaara smiling at him. "Now that there's three of us, we can play jump rope!"

"Temari I don't want to play jump!" Kankurou wined.

"Well I'm oldest so you have to do what I say!" she said putting her hands on her hips.

"But I don't want to!"

Fifteen minutes later, Temari jumped happily as Gaara and Kankurou turned the rope up and down. "See I told you this would be fun!" the little girl said, her pigtails flopping up and down.

"Temari, let us have a turn!" Kankurou yelled out having grown tired of seeing his sister hog the game.

"Alright! Now its Gaara's turn!"

"Me?"

"Why do you always do that, Gaara? Of course it's you!" she said stepping aside.

"B-but I…" He gulped.

"It's easy!" Temari said out loud grabbing the end of the jump rope. Gaara nodded and slowly jumped just like Temari had done before.

"See that wasn't so hard?"

They continued playing for a few minutes, before there grew footsteps behind them. Yashamaru came into view, gently telling them that the Kazekage has requested meeting with Gaara.

"Oh I guess we can play later," Temari said dropping the rope to the ground.

"Yeah, next time I'll should you my bamboo snake!" Kankurou said happily.

"Not that!"

"You're just jealous!"

"I'm not!" On no, here they go again.

"Temari-chan, Kankurou-kun, I believe your nanny is looking for you," Yashamaru stepped in.

Both siblings gasped. "Oh no! We have to go Gaara."

"Yeah, our nanny's probably mad at us for skipping classes."

"Bye Gaara! We'll see you around!" They called out grabbing a hold of the other's hand and running away.

"Um… bye!" he said a little bit disappointed that their playing had to end.

* * *

"Kankurou?" Gaara said softly as he opened the door. The room was a mess with various clothes and toys littered the room.

"Gaara?" he said opening his eye at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"Sleeping," he said semi-unconscious.

"Why?"

"Go ask Temari," he said turning around and putting his head under his pillow. Nodding at the idea, Gaara closed the door behind him and walked through the empty corridors. In no time at all he found Temari's room. He put his hand on the doorknob and silently walked in.

"Temari?"

Temari stirred in her bed, before slowly opening her teal eyes. Focusing on the figure above her, she saw a patch of red.

"Gaara? It's really late, shouldn't you be asleep?" she asked yawning out loud. Gaara and Yashamaru had stayed in the palace for almost a week now, but lately they had been seeing less of their little brother. And as much as she would continue playing with him, she was simply too tired.

"But I'm not tired. Why do you and Kankurou sleep for, I thought only grown ups slept?"

"No, Gaara everyone sleeps."

"But… how come…." He paused. "I've never slept before."

She looked at him curiously. "How come?"

"I don't know."

He bowed his head, as though feeling guilty that he couldn't sleep.

"I know!" Temari said raising her small finger in the air. "Our nanny showed us this jutsu when me or Kankurou can't go to sleep," the seven year old said, "She says the only time she can get out of this hell is when were asleep."

"You can do jutsus?"

"Of course!" she said happily crawling out of her bed and walking towards him. She pulled a chair towards the closet and standing on her toes to reach out for something. A heavy book came crashing to the floor before Temari jumped off the chair.

"It's called the Feigning Sleeping Technique," Temari told him opening the book on the floor and flipping through the pages.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gaara asked watching his older sister.

"Of course, that way you won't be left out. And then tomorrow morning we can play all day... Wait here it is!" She exclaimed happily, stopping on a page. Gaara looked over Temari's shoulder and stared at the diagrams of the hand signals. It looked simple enough and the words weren't that difficult to pronounce.

Gaara moved his hands as the book demonstrated and recited the chant. Both children waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. "Did I do it?" he asked a little bit of excitement in his voice.

"No, I think that you messed up with your pinkie and you have to say Tanuki Ne…ir…ir no Jutsu," Temari said trying to pronounce the word. "Try again," she said thoughtfully. The little boy performed the seals "Tanuki Neli Jutsu!" he said after the seals were performed.

"Nothing happened," Gaara said pouting slightly that he couldn't master this simple jutsu.

"That's because you didn't pronounce it right. Its 'Tanuki Neiri no jutsu," she said slowly pronouncing the syllables.

"Alright," Gaara said determination all over his face. Performing the seals the finished by yelling out "_Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu_."

"Did it work?" Temari said looking at her little brother.

"I don't know. I did every…" At that moment he let out a yawn, something that he had never done before.

* * *

Yashamaru walked down the long hallway to check up on his young nephew. He was busy with paperwork from the hospital and didn't have a chance to see him until now. Slowly he knocked on the door, but received no respond. Brows furrowing in puzzlement, he opened the door to find an empty room.

"Gaara-sama are you hiding?" he asked looking under the bed, behind the dresser drawer and any other hiding spot where a five-year-old might be lurking. But he was no where to be found.

Panic slowly reared its head, and Yashamaru could only think of how furious the Kazekage would be. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he'd figure the child was probably on the roof watching the moon. But tonight there was no moon. He dashed down the hallway to Kankurou's room.

"Kankurou-kun?"

"Huh? What's going on Yashamaru? Why is everyone waking me up?" he asked sleepily after being shook awake.

"Have you seen Gaara-sama?"

"Yeah," he said sleepily getting ready to put his head on the pillow.

"Where?" Yashamaru said shaking him once again.

"He came by and I told him I was sleeping..." He yawned.

"And?"

"I told him to bother Temari." No sooner had the words left his mouth that Yashamaru went down the hall. "Yashamaru, what's wrong?" he asked sleep slowly disappearing as he notice his uncle's strange behavior.

* * *

"I feel funny," Gaara said scratching his eyes slightly.

"Yay! The jutsu is taking affect," Temari said happily. "I'm a very good teacher!"

…_Cr…ac…k…_

"Do you hear something?" Temari asked after hearing a faint crack. Carefully, she approached her window, noticing large crack appearing on the glass surface. If she didn't know any better it seemed as though it was stretching wider.

"My eyes feel like they want to close," Gaara said never really used to the symptoms of sleeping.

"Of course Gaara, that's what happens before you fall asleep..." She said turning her head briefly to look at her baby brother.

_C…ra…ck!_

She was right the crack was actually getting even longer until it was the length of her small arm.

"Great, Nana's gonna get mad at me for breaking--"

_CRACK! _

Out of now where the window completely shattered, spewing sharp glasses all over the room. Reflexively she brought her arms to cover her face, feeling the sharp glass rip through her flesh. Sand appeared from the broken window, pushed her violently on the floor. Wind howled violently throughout the room knocking her bedside lamp onto the floor and rapidly circling around her baby brother.

"Gaara?" she asked realizing that all the sand was gathering around him, as though he was the one calling upon it. More and more sand started to appear, carefully being molded by the howling wind. Finally, after a few minutes the storm blew itself out and Temari stood in front of a large round shaped cocoon.

"Gaara… what are you doing?" the seven-year-old asked fearfully. She slowly approached the cocoon and hesitantly touched it, but quickly drew her hand back as small droplets of blood started to fall from her finger. In all her young life she had never seen anything like this so she was starting to get worried that something might be happening to him.

"S-stop playing around… this isn't funny…" she stuttered, her heart beating rapidly. As though Gaara had heard her, a small hole opened and started growing wider. Temari didn't know what was inside, but she didn't hear Gaara's small voice, instead the sound of shifting sand.

"Gaara?" Temari softly whispering, stepping back towards her door. The sand inside started to shift rapidly until a yellow star-shaped eye stared eerily at her.

"Free..." came a low voice from within the sand.

"I'm FREE!"

A gust of wind and sand sprayed throughout the room, shattering windows, throwing furniture, and crushing anything in its path. The thing inside the cocoon kept growing and growing until it destroyed the roof and reached the cold night sky.

How Temari managed to survive this, she didn't know.

She supposed that it was a good thing that she walked by the door, but her thoughts weren't on her lucky survival. She was more focused on the face of the monster that had once been her baby brother. Craning her neck up to the night sky, she could make a clear view of the creature.

It was made completely out of sand resembling a tanuki. Sharp teeth made completely out of sand were supported by a strong jaw. It swung its long tail completely destroying what little remained of Temari's room.

"Wait!" she cried out under the rumble, but then froze as she saw that golden star-shaped eye staring wickedly at her. It was as though her brain shut down and her body felt numb and the only thing she could do was scream.

She screamed and screamed until tears started falling from her green teal eyes. Wrapping her arms around herself, she collapsed on the floor and continued to scream until she could no longer feel her voice.

"Temari!" Kankurou came dashing as he heard a scream. He saw Temari in the corner of the room, her entire body folded tightly upon itself like a ball.

"Temari, what's wrong?" he asked. In an instant she jumped into his arms, holding tightly on him for dear life. She sobbed loudly on his shoulder shaking from head to toe in fear.

Kankurou held her tightly trying for all his best to act strong. But how could he? Temari was so much braver and stronger than he was. The only thing he could do was curse the monster for doing this and try hard not to cry as he saw a monstrous figure walking away from Temari's room.

Shukaku roamed about the Sand Village happily rejoicing his return to the world. His host was a young and naïve child that had accidentally set him free with the help of that little girl. His loud chuckles ran along the empty streets of Suna, quickly awaking all the villagers from their peaceful slumber. Stretching his arm into a large length the innocent building that was standing to his right was obliterated. Debris flew down from the sky raining down on other nearby buildings. Shukaku laughed even louder as the villagers awoke screaming one by one to the wreckage. Yes, the demon thought. Tonight he would satisfy his bloodlust.

* * *

The Kazekage awoke from his slumber from by the shaking on his nightstand. Irritably he turned on the light wondering what in the world could be waking him up in the dead of night. It was his hourglass that was shaking as though it was a ticking bomb. Placing the hourglass on his palm, the time keeper still shook. It was as though the sand was trying to come out. But that was impossible…unless…

As if to prove him wrong the hourglass burst into a million pieces, cutting his palm, and then the sand rushed out under the door. But if he thought that was bad, then the deaf breaking eruption only added to his confirms that Shukaku was awake. Dashing towards the conflict, he saw the ruins of what used to be his daughter's room and looking beyond he saw the monstrous figure of the sand demon. He turned his head and saw the small balled up form of Temari cuddled in the corner, still crying out.

Yashamaru and Kankurou approach minutes later both of them looking terrified at the completely destroyed room. The Kazekage noticed from the corner of is eye that Kankurou had rushed over to comfort Temari.

"Sir, please…."

"I don't need your excuses now Yashamaru," he said coldly. "I want the ANBU in my office in five minutes, four teams by the water supply storage, and another six teams to go after that monster! Have a notification ready for evacuation after ten minutes pass."

"Hai!" Yashamaru saluted and dashed off.

So this was Suna's trump card? Ironically it would bring their downfall instead of their salvation. The Kazekage ran to his office, there was a lot of work to be done tonight, and any hesitation could bring the destruction of Suna.

* * *

_Fūton: Renkūdan! _

Shukaku cried out happily, taking a deep breath of the cold desert air and blowing up his stomach. With a quick whack in his gut he shot out a large call of compressed air and chakra destroying another three buildings at once like a domino effect.

The demon hollowed in laughter. But his laughter was short lived as he felt sharp objects colliding to his arm. He spun his head angrily looking down at a small group of Sand shinobi that had gathered and launched catapulted arrows at him.

"Fire!" one of the commanders yelled out. Simultaneously arrows spluttered at the large sand demon.

"You think you can stop me!" he yelled out simply waving his hand at the small group. His large side added his advantage caused the attack group to be thrown aside like a broken toy.

"Fire!" Another voice commanded from above Shukaku. In seconds a squad of puppeteers each performed long chakra strings, trying to bind the creature, but the monster merely turned his head breaking the strings and throwing the puppeteers down to their untimely death.

"This is bad… he just threw our best puppet squad in the air as though they were nothing. Suna will be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Unless…"

"Baki hold the monster down. The only way to defeat him is by awakening Gaara," The Kazekage said looked up at the sand demon, staring carefully looking pass the sharp teeth and the round skull….it was so small compared to the monstrous figure.

"Sir!" Baki saluted waiting for further action.

"Take the north team and the south team and surround the demon!" he yelled out. His people no sooner responded to the command and furiously a group of Sand. Around him a group of Sand shinobi sat in a circle cross-legged muttering something in low chants. Small green and orange scrolls were held in their mouth. Soon a bright blue color shone in the sand shaped like a circle and traveling to each of the members in the chant. A small white smoke started to form in the center of the circle, slowly rising to the sky above.

"Summoning!" the Sand shinobi called yelled out loud, each of them slamming the scroll to the ground. The smoke grew even more fiercely covered the entire area, a long thin tongue breathe out into the night air. A three headed brown snake stood after the smoke subsided. It hissed dangerously at Shukaku, but the monster did nothing but smile at it.

"You can't stop me!" it yelled out, voice echoing in the air. "No one can stop me!" It ran head first into the snake, changing even more of the landscape and killing even more people. The three headed snake continued to hiss at it and with its three heads bit down on Shukaku's shoulder. Venom trickled down the snake's teeth, but it was no use this thing was completely made out of sand. It was like trying to fight the desert all by itself.

Using its thick fingers it gripped one of the snake's heads. Shukaku growled out at the snake and using his other hand, he broke the snake's neck in two and threw the other half to the side. The snake puffed away after being defeated. Shukaku laughed at his victory," Do you hear me? Now one can defeat me!"

"Do it!" the Kazekage shouted out loud.

A sea of kunai flew towards the monster. Caught off guard, Shukaku fell back as though he were caught in a spider's web. The kunai stopped in a building, trapping the creature in a net. The Kazekage approached the creature, ignoring the sand that pierced through his body. He stood bravely in front of the creature and muttered a jutsu of his own, sending an icy cold breeze enough to keep the monster still. Using the opportunity he threw a single kunai at the creature's head, hitting its target perfectly.

"No!" Shukaku yelled out angrily after recovering what had happened. He spread his arms wide, effectively destroying all the strings and stared down at the leader with pure hatred. He was about to put one of his heavy palms on the leader, effectively crushing him into pieces

In the last split of a second the demon paused, its eyes turning into a dull orange. Suddenly it started to dissolve, spilling sand like water into the streets. The sand knocked down buildings, buried even more roads and instantly knocking any shinobi that weren't quick enough to move away. Bloody limps rain down from the sky smearing blood into the sandy streets of Suna. Sand continued to spread out until it reached the roofs of homes. The inhabitants that were inside their homes screamed out in fear as sand appeared rushed into their homes instantly dragging them away and suffocating them in the process.

Crimson blood soaked the streets.

Shukaku was only awake for about ten minutes, but those ten minutes nearly destroyed half of Suna. The village was in ruins. Buildings were sprawled on the ground, while a heavy dust as well as the stench of blood fills the air. Shukaku's power was very impressive, but at the same time very powerful. To think that not even the Kazekage could fully defeat the demon, and if it hadn't been for waking up Gaara then he knew right away that he would have been history.

Huffing from that huge amount of chakra that the Kazekage had to use, he looked about the battlefield. It seemed to him as if an entire army had attacked the village, not just a little boy.

"Kazekage-sama, are you alright?" Baki asked appearing right by the leader, immediately noticing the blood trickling down his arms.

"Get me a head count," he muttered ignoring his concern. "And Baki I might have further use for you."

He nodded not quite sure what the Kazekage was thinking about, but he'd learn that this man did everything for a reason.

"Sir, Gaara-sama has awakened," another shinobi responded right beside him.

Little Gaara looked throughout the area a bewildered look in his eyes. "What happened?" he said looking about the sand ninjas who returned a look of pure hatred and fear. For a moment no one wanted to approach him, but within time the crowd split and in walked the Kazekage looking anything but pleased.

"Gaara," he said his voice sounding harsh. "Do you realize what has happened here?"

"No," he said fighting back the tears that were starting to form in his green eyes.

"Do you realize that the demon inside of you awoke and nearly destroyed all on Suna?"

A surprise looked in his face proved that he had no idea what had happened in the last few minutes.

"Come," he said walking past him. Gaara ran next to him wondering all along what his father would be telling him. They approached the palace that Gaara had been admiring a week ago, now the place looked like a complete rundown building. The roof had caved in, while broken glass and debris littered the front yard. The sand hovering in the air made it hard for him to see and breath.

"Yashamaru!" he yelled out. In a minute he heard the shifting of footsteps and the blond medic approached him. "Take care of this," he said motioning to Gaara. "I want you to leave by sunrise; there will be no more training. This was all a mistake…. You will be escorted to make sure that nothing else happens."

"Yes sir," he said grabbing a hold of Gaara's hand and walking away with him.

The Kazekage walked back to Temari's room and just like he expected he saw his two children on the floor. Temari was holding tightly to her brother, hiccupping slightly with red eyes that showed that she had been crying. Kankurou looked ghostly white but when he saw the Kazekage he bowed down pushing Temari down on the floor as well.

"Kazekage-sama…" Kankurou said looking down at the floor. This was possible the third time that they had seen their father, and they were awfully aware how strict the man was. They knew right then and there that their father only came to talk to them when he was extremely upset with them or he was about to make a life changing decision.

"Temari," he said glaring at her and with a swift move of the back of his palm hit her square on the cheek. "Do you have any idea what you have done with your childish tricks? You nearly caused the destruction of the village!" He yelled angrily at her. Temari didn't say or do anything; she was still too traumatized after coming so close to death. She stared down at the title floor, tears falling down her green teal eyes and shaking with fear.

"Please…. Kazekage-sama, don't be mad at Temari," Kankurou said softly. He looked at his son, and immediately Kankurou grew quiet.

"From now on you will be training to be shinobi under your new sensei, Baki. I expect you to do well… maybe you can be half as strong as Gaara," he muttered, turning and walking away. "Wipe those tears off your face!" he said angrily. "You are the Kazekage's daughter and you can not be showing weakness to anyone!"

"What about Gaara?" Kankurou asked, since it was rather common to have a group of families under a team.

"Do not worry about Gaara because after a while you won't be seeing him anymore," he said ominously.

* * *

Slowly her eyes opened to the surrounding darkness, shivering from the temperature. Or maybe it was just her?

It was that dream again, the one she just never seemed to forget. She wished Kankurou was here to make her laugh and tell her everything was alright, and then joking say he won't let any of the monsters hurt his nee-san.

Her entire body was feverously hot and cold sweat would fall down her brow. She touched her injured arm and winced slightly in pain. How long had this wound been left unwounded and expose to the air? At least the poison was gone, but now she had to deal with this bad infection.

"I'm not going to let a stupid fever get me," Temari muttered sitting up against the wall of the prison. "They can't take me that easily."


	6. Setting into Place

* * *

**Chapter VI: Setting Into Place **

Tatami Iwashi shifted uncomfortably as he stood watch. Two other chuunin guards were by his side, behaving the complete opposite of him. They stood upright, calm and collected. Of course they were probably used to guard duty, unlike him, but still that wasn't what sent him a bit off edge. Neither of them had watched the Chuunin Exams, and consequentially they didn't think much of this new prisoner.

But Iwashi knew otherwise, he'd still remembered that video footage he saw with Anko and the two other ANBU. Those cold eyes…

The door screeched open, quickly breaking away his thoughts. The giant form of Ibiki walked out, followed by an ANBU, both of them all too serious. This was the third day they had been interrogating this prisoner, and once again they had come out empty handed.

"He's not saying anything," Ibiki said more to himself. He motioned for Iwaski to follow as well, considering that they needed to examine his footage again.

"Those Sand genin are tough," the ANBU commented walking beside the Jounin. "They were able to complete the second exam in 97 minutes. Clearly they're way above their rank."

"No, that's not it," Ibiki responded walking away from the steel doors and acknowledged the guards supervision.

"What is it, then?" The chuunin asked keeping pace with his two superiors.

"He hasn't said anything since he got here. It's been two weeks and he hasn't said one word. Not even to ask where he is," the ANBU answered.

"That kid… There's something wrong with him…. Mentally," Ibiki said continuing to walk ahead. "It's like he's in his own world. He just sits there, and stares at the wall."

Iwashi gulped. Despite his size and age, this kid was disturbing.

"I doubt this kid is going to do anything, but just in case continue to keep him on full watch. Anything he does report it to me."

"Hai!" Another subordinates saluted, watching as Ibiki pass through a second steel door and disappear down a corridor.

"Sir, what are you going to do with him? The other Sand genin told us he didn't know anything about Orochimaru; what makes you think that he'll know something as well?"

Ibiki suddenly stopped almost causing Iwashi and the ANBU to crash into him.

"That boy was meant to do something for his village. I just want to know what," he said eerily picking up his pace again. "Besides we have other things to worry about."

"Yes," the ANBU said lowered his masked face to view the ground sadly. "Tomorrow is Hokage-sama's funeral."

----

Metal clanged on the floor as the blonde kunoichi tried to move her bounded hands. The simple task was hard enough, considering that her body was feverous and weak. She looked down at her wounded arm, remembering how the silent needle stabbed deeply within her flesh. It hadn't been that serious of a wound back then, but now the wound had considerably opened to show the raw muscle tissue. The destroyed tissue was no longer a deep red, instead it had transformed into a nasty greenish color. Clear pus would trickle down her arm, informing her that the wound was deeply infected.

"Stupid fever," Temari scowled out loud, trying to wipe the sweat that was forming on her forehead. It would only be a matter of time before this fever got too high; draining the little amount of energy she had left.

After waking up into the dark and small cell, she had a premonition on what had happened. Now, her only thoughts were the whereabouts of Kankurou and Gaara. Being a brilliant strategist, she began to formulate a plan to escape from this cell and search for her brothers. The problem was that the opportunity hadn't sprung up for her to take action. No one had come by, so she was stuck sitting around patiently waiting for a chance.

Sighing deeply, Temari closed her eyes in deep thought. "Guys I hope you're alright."

----

"Hey what the hell is that stuff?"

"Huh?" The older Leaf chuunin turned his head to what his younger comrade was pointing to. Both of them were in charge of examining and recording all the objects that the prisoners carried when they were captured. There was always the usual weapon, medical supply, and food; however these Sand genin had been carrying strange objects with them. Naturally it was put into storage, but it was only up till now that they were actually looking through them.

"Must be those Sand genin stuff," the older man replied turning to write something on the clipboard he was carrying. "I heard they used them as some sort of weapons during the Chuunin Exams."

"You're kidding me! Are you saying that someone would a use heavy gourd and a gigantic fan as weapons?"

"Guess so," the older man responded not really carrying about the younger Leaf.

"These kids must have some serious back problems. I mean look at that gourd it has to weight at least 50 lbs!"

"Yeah," the older ninja responded, finishing from signing the documents. He sighed. Rookies, they just had to leave him with the new guy.

"I wonder what's in the mummified one."

"Just leave it alone. We're going to exam that stuff later," he said turning around to leave.

"Why can't we look at it now?"

"Because we have to meet with Ibiki, that's why. Something about check up on that kunoichi tomorrow."

"Oh?" the younger responded.

"Yeah, that's what I heard. Good riddance too, it'll be an easy job, instead of looking through all this rubbish. "

"How so? From what I heard in the finals, she was pretty scary against that Nara kid."

"Yeah, but that kunoichi's probably dead. She did have a nasty wound when we brought her in. At least we'll be able to leave early tomorrow, for the memorial service."

He snorted.

"Good thing too! I can't wait to get out of this place! I mean the entire place stinks and there are rats everywhere." He complained and just as cue a fat, black rat came out of a hole in the wall, immediately his face turned into deep disgust.

"Hurry up we have to get going," he said walking out of the small room.

"Alright, I'm coming!"

As he was about to leave he felt something walk across his foot. "Eek… Maybe that's why sempai is so upset about this place. It is rather disgusting," he said to himself as he realized that the rat had dashed into the storage room; its bare tail hid behind the Sand genin's weapons.

The younger chuunin looked backed at the odd weapons. Who would really carry such useless objects around? The mummified objected stood out the most: brownish type hair stood on the tip, resembling an ear of cob.

"I wonder what's in that thing…. I suppose a quick look won't make any harm," he convinced himself bending down and lifted the bandaged object, grunting slightly at the weight.

Whatever was in there sure was heavy.

_Maybe this is a corpse, _the rookie thought to himself. He gripped the end of a bandage and slowly began unbind it. Unrolling and unrolling it, he was slightly amazed on how much bandage this thing actually had. As he near the object inside, a light brownish color started to appear. Bit by bit the shape started to form. An eye started to appear, follow by three crooked teeth.

But that only drove his curiosity.

Another two eyes started to appear, while the bandages started to become harder to pull apart.

Hard brownish texture touched his fingerprints and he realized that the brownish hair texture was really connected to an oval head.

Finally when he was at the very end on the bandages, he looked at the object that was inside and gasped out loud in horror.

"AHAHAA!"

"What's the matter?" his comrade called out running back to the room, a kunai in his hand, ready for any action. However he didn't expect to see the idiotic rookie on the floor, bandages all over the place, and an ugly wooden round object on the floor.

"What the hell I thought you were attack! I ran back all this way, for nothing!"

"Sorry about that," he said grinning sheepishly. "It was some type of marionette that was inside, and its head fell off," he stood up, shutting one eye, and walking away from the decapitated marionette he was so curious about.

"Baka," his comrade scowled walking away from him. "Leave those things alone. Pfft, you might start crying about that giant fan as well."

"Geez… I said I was sorry!"

----

The puppet master sat alone in the dark small cell. His fingers twisted awkwardly. The metal handcuffs were discharged behind him. Thin chakra strings sprang from his right hand, running on the floor. Despite the pain of his unhealed fingers, he grinned widely.

"Good job Karasu."

* * *


	7. Doubtful Reunions

Many apologizes for the last chapter! Ritachi told me about the big goof I made and after rereading it, I realized the second paragraph was writen twice. ;; I double checked to make sure this chapter was all right.

Some thanks go to my baby brother (he's actually 10, but I still call him that), for helping me move forward with this chapter. Usual disclaimer applies. **

* * *

**

**Chapter VII: Doubtful Reunions **

The steel door squeaked loudly as it was opened. Light entered the darken room, producing two silhouettes by the doorway. Sensing no danger, the two Leaf guards approached the lone figure on the dirt floor. The once powerful Sand kunoichi lay on the dirt floor, body blanched and bright teal eyes covered by blonde bangs. She wasn't moving.

_Temari…_

"I told you she'd be dead," the older guard said to the younger one almost jokingly. "I guess we'll just have to tell Ibiki about this…. Hey what's up with you?" he asked realizing his comrade's strange behavior. "Oh I get it, first time seeing a corpse?"

The younger chuunin did not respond, so he figured his assumption was correct. "You're gonna to have to get used to it. We have to do standard procedures with a corpse," he stated bending down to view the body. Using his left hand, he shifted her blonde head.

"Hmm… Looks like a fever got—AHAA!"

Now the tables were turned, and the presumably dead kunoichi held the Leaf chuunin into a headlock.

"W-what the hell?" He choked out feeling the metal handcuffs against his throat. Perhaps what surprised him even more was hoe someone could do something so bold.

"We, Sand shinobi don't get taken off so easily," she muttered, eyes flickering dangerous. "Where is the rest of my team?"

Using his own speed, he pulled out his elbow and hit her squarely on the stomach. Temari fell back onto the dirt floor but felt, as the guard pulled out a kunai positioning dangerous above her. "You'll see them soon enough," he muttered viciously. In a flash, blood spewed on the floor and the guard slowly fell backwards, a kunai in his own stomach. His eyes widening as he saw his murder, it was the new chuunin.

"Temari, are you alright?" The Leaf Genin asked quickly shoving the body aside, and approaching her. Performing a quick jutsu, a puff of smoke appeared replacing the green vested Leaf chuunin with a young boy dressed in black and violet kabuki face paint.

"K-Kankurou? H-how do I know it's you?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"When you were seven you hid a scorpion under Baki's turban."

She gasped, and immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him. Kankurou didn't say anything, but held her tightly, closing his eyes and muttering a quick prayer to whatever deity was up there. For a minute, both siblings forgot they were miles away from home, heavily suffering from wounds, and incarcerated for simply following orders. They were just two children forced into a shinobi life. The metal clangs of Temari's cuffed hands brought them back to their current situation.

"We really put Baki through hell didn't we?" Temari said laughing, regardless of the situation.

"Nah, he deserved it. He nearly killed with his training," Kankurou replied, suddenly finding his mood shifting now that he was with his sister. Another quick jutsu and the cuffs were gone. "Temari… you're burning up" he finally noticed. Putting his palm on her forehead, he immediately felt the heated glow of her skin.

"It's just a little fever," she said trying to smile at him. She tried to stand up, but found it difficult.

"Temari… this isn't just some little fever. That wound… its gotten infected hasn't it?" he asked looking at her arm. The sickly flesh told him what he needed to know.

"I told you don't worry about it."

"You're too stubborn for your own good," Kankurou said putting her back to the floor. Taking out a few bandages from Karasu, he moved her sleeve and started to carefully wrap the wound. "We're gonna have to get this treated after we get out of here," he said tying the bandage securely.

"Kankurou, what… what about Gaara?" She asked softly looking down at the floor.

He knew what she was trying to say. Are we going to leave Gaara behind? This was perhaps the only chance of escape, since there was less surveillance going on, but wandering off would be foolish. They had no clue where Gaara was, and there was probably a good chance he was under high security after his performance in the chuunin exams. To make matters worse, Temari was suffering from a really bad infection and a high fever that was getting worse by the passing minute; and he had three disabled fingers which meant that Karasu wouldn't be as high functioning as possible. But he supposed that wasn't the problem. It was a hesitation within them on whether they should go looking for the nefarious Sabaku no Gaara. After all the fear and cold treatment they'd gotten from him, this was perhaps the only chance of finally getting rid of him. They would wake up from the nightmare they'd been living through and things would go back to the way they were supposed to be, with just the two of them.

He looked at Temari. She was probably thinking the same thing, maybe even deeper since she suffered deeper psychological wounds from long ago. Closing his eyes, Kankurou thought deeply of their further plan of action.

He never really acted like their brother.

_Don't tell me what to do you piece of trash. _

He treated them no better than the enemy.

_Shut up or I'll kill you_

He never cared about them.

_I don't really consider you as my siblings… if you get in my way; I'll kill you, too._

_I don't really consider…_

…_you as my siblings…_

That was probably what bothered him most. Suna siblings were often close together and it was painful to have someone that shared your same blood be that cold to you.

_Temari, Kankurou… I'm sorry. _

"C'mon Temari," Kankurou said having made a decision. He rose from the floor and grabbing her hand. "We're going get your fan... Then we're gonna find Gaara."

----

The chaos within him raged uncontrollable. Not his bloodlust trying to satisfied itself, but rather his own thoughts. Questions would be answered by more questions, and in the end it left him confused and susceptible. It was like he was a child all over again unsure of the world as he was seeing it for the first time. But that was ridiculous, he was Sabaku no Gaara.

His existence was to eliminate anyone other than himself.

He fought for himself.

He loved only himself.

Those were the definition of the strongest. But why? Why? Did he keep remembering that loudmouth blonde?

_I'll definitely protect them until the end! _

_I don't want to lose even if I die!_

The battle kept playing over and over again in his mind. He was supposed to be the victor, but out of nowhere the child got this strong surge of power.

_I'll definitely protect them until the end! _

He thought about it so many times. Why? Why can this simpleton, this feeble mind idiot be so strong?

_Why do you go so far for other people's sake_? He asked, watching as he slowly crawled to him.

_The pain of being alone is not an easy one to bear…. Your feelings… why is it… that I can understand your pain? _

_I already have many people who are important to me now… I won't let you hurt those people important to me….Even if you try to kill them I will stop you… _

That was his respond. Somehow the hyperactive ninja knew the same pain he had gone over , but he was able to break away from it.

_They saved me form the hell of being alone… the hell of being alone… they acknowledged my existence… that's why they're all important to me… _

Love… that's why he's so strong.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara said out loud, his voice sounding strange from not using it so long. He turned his head gradually rising. Approaching the wall that he was been staring so long, he softly touched it and closed his eyes. This room was carefully design to absorb the user's chakra. They had taken special precaution in dealing with him, but not all.

He lifted his hand, extending his index finger. It took sever minutes longer, but swiftly a thin string of sand approach him, like a snake approaching its master.

----

Gripping Temari's hand, Kankurou led the way down the dark corridor. Their entire defenses were raised up high for anything that could be going. Any sound of footsteps and they would fall back into the shadows not daring to even breathe. It was better to avoid any fight quarrels but that was easier said then done. Nearing the door, where Karasu used to be kept he slowly opened the door and sneaked a peak inside.

The coast was clear.

Unlike the other rooms in the prison, the light bulb shone brightly in the poor decorated room. Three desks were against the wall with many documents and scrolls piled up. A wooden door stood shut at the opposite end of the room, where the valuable of prisoners were kept. Creeping against the wall, Kankurou opened the door with a quick jutsu and peered inside carefully. The room held no objects, almost making him think they'd reached a dead end. But as soon as the lights turned on, the walls weren't walls, after all. Rather they were drawers.

Long metal bars stood out from the walls awkwardly some reaching the ceiling. "Let's start looking," Kankurou stated letting go of Temari's hand. Obviously Temari's fan was inside one of those drawers, the problem was which one. "Alright," she nodded walking to the end of the room and frantically opening up drawers after drawers.

Thirty minutes passed in silence as Temari and Kankurou started open drawers after drawers.

"Kankurou," she said out loud "How did you get out?"

"It wasn't easy. I had to break two of my fingers to squeeze those cuffs off," he said opening another drawer. "After that I grabbed one of those rats and used my chakra strings to control it. They're so small, so it's no problem controlling them. Luckily I was able to find Karasu in no problem, but one of those guards was being a complete dumbass and opening Karasu's bandages. So I just struck him in the throat with Karasu's poison needle hidden in its head, and he was out cold.

"It gave me some trouble though seeing as the guy yelled out and his partner ran back into the room. I knew that if he saw the dead body and Karasu's head on the floor, I was screwed. So at the last minute I did a replication jutsu and disguised Karasu with that dead guy and vice versa. Hmm… the idiot completely believed. Karasu was pretending to be that guy, so he had to meet Ibiki. I think he might have caught on. So we'll have to move quickly."

Temari looked at her brother in complete awe. He had managed to do this all by himself without getting caught? During the chunnin exams she realized that he was the best one for gathering information, but she didn't think he could do something like this.

"Good job little brother," Temari said grinning at him. He looked back at her and shrugged. "It was nothing. D-did you hear that?" he whispered.

_Thump. Thump._

"Shh…" Temari whispered putting her index finger on her lips both of them frozen on the spot.

_Thump. Thump. _

Slowly the door squeaked open, follow by the sound of footsteps walking towards them. Judging from the rhythm of the footsteps, there were three of them.

"Who's here?"

The question instantly froze their blood. In a flash both their eyes turned into horror as the doorknob slowly turned.

_Shit!_ Kankurou cursed realizing the vacant room. They couldn't hide, so they'd be force to fight in their weaken state. He pulled out Karasu from his binds, just as the door sprung open.

_Kugutsu no Jutsu!_

Coming back to life Karasu spat out several kunai from its mouth. The newcomer was thrown across the room at the surprise attack. But he brought his own surprise to the siblings, as he turned out to be a wooden log.

"Get down!" Kankurou yelled out shoving Temari to the floor. In the nick of time, they avoided a sea of black kunai crashing to the wall.

Another move of his finger and Karasu flew to the other room and was met head on with a wave of kunai. The puppet spun its head, taking in the location of the enemy. There were only three of them, but they weren't showing themselves. Ducking behind three kunai, Karasu pulled back in front of the doorway extending its wooden arms to prevent the entry of the enemy. It pulled its upper arm behind about to spray the enemy with its own counterattack, when out of nowhere it stopped.

It just froze, like a machine would when a foreign object was inserted in its gears.

"C'mon Karasu," the puppet master muttered moving his fingers, in a desperate attempt to shift the puppets forearms. "C'mon." It still didn't move.

"What's wrong with Karasu?" Temari asked in fear. It didn't move with its usual agility, instead it was almost limping, like wounded animal. _His fingers… they haven't healed yet… they've gotten worse_!

Two other kunai hit the wooden surface of the marionette. Karasu wavered from its spot. Right now the only thing that was shielding them from the enemy was the puppet; if it stepped aside then they would be met with a sea of kunai. Temari spun her head noticing her brother's struggle in operating a puppet with only six fingers. She stood up and began to open drawers after drawer furiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked noticing her throw random things aside.

"Looking for my fan!" She yelled out throwing things aside. Three more kunai met Karasu.

_Where is it?_ Temari thought, finding new bound strength. _Here it is! _She cried out happily, seeing the polished surface of the iron but paused as she saw the rough texture of the Gaara's gourd. There it was standing so innocently beside her weapon. She gulped remembering the sand slowly transforming Gaara. She shook her head; there was no time to think about such things.

"Stand aside!" With as much power as she could, Temari grabbed a hold of her iron fan.

_Kamaitachi no Jutsu!_

The chakra created windstorm blew back another wave of kunai. A muffle of yells cried out, as the hidden people were blown away along with the few objects in the room.

"Grab Gaara's gourd," Temari huffed, putting the fan down on the floor. Her hand was shaking, and she was sweating profoundly.

_That fever's getting worse_, Kankurou observed. _She should be resting not fighting. _

"Take it easy, Temari," he said worriedly. "You're in no fighting position."

"Look who's talking," she said slyly.

He didn't respond but stared off briefly at the round sturdy shape of Gaara's gourd. There was something about seeing the gourd completely defensively. It seemed as though it was nothing but pestering sand not the deadly weapon that Gaara used to crush his enemies and make the sky bleed with crimson. This was the symbolical form of Gaara. They were really going through this, their last chance of awakening from this nightmare?

"Let's go," Kankurou said balanced the gourd on his back along with Karasu. Entwining his fingers with Temari's, they dashed out of the room. The background started to change, as they ran deeper and deeper within the prison. The corridors opened to a large field that rose high to the ceilings. Levels jointed out created from the carvings of rocks. Irons bars made up most of the walls most likely cells from common criminals. There was the shifting of movement and yelling as the prisoners recognized the foreign shinobi.

"Kankurou, how are we supposed to find him?" Temari asked keeping up to him.

"Let's ask someone," he responded slowing down and looking into a random cell. He spotted two overlarge prisoners with tough brownish skin and tightly pulled black hair. They had a dense look on their face and constantly muttered nonsense. "You, have you seen a short kid with red hair and dark rings around his eyes?"

"Let's see?" the prisoner said putting his overly large finger on his chin like he was trying to think. "I don't remember. I know you should ask Brother! He knows everything!"

"I saw him! But we'll only tell you if you give us food!"

"That's very smart brother! We can get food for this! Food! Food! Food!" They chanted together.

"We're asking a bunch of idiots," Temari sighed. "We should just get going before guards start appearing."

"The hell we don't have time for this! Where is he?" Kankurou said angrily.

"Don't mind them," a voice came from the next cell. They saw a tall muscular man with long white hair. "I saw red walking by with some guards… just staring off into space. Ibiki walked by there a couple of times, and came back frustrated each time."

"Which way…?"

"Over there, but you'll run in trouble since that place is the most heavily guarded."

----

"Haven't seen you for a while," Anko said referring to Ibiki.

"Everyone's too busy now days," Ibiki said coolly walking ahead to the small gathering of black. There was a small gathering of those that arrived early for the memorial of the Hokage and the fallen shinobi that had died protecting the village.

"Is it alright for you to leave the institution like this?" Anko asked her cheerful tone gone.

"Don't worry I everything will be alright," Ibiki muttered taking a seat and watching as a monk stood above the crowd. "I saw past that trick, once, and I certainly saw it again."

----

Dashing through a deserted corridor, Temari started wondering why they hadn't met any opposition so far, except for the encounter in the storage room, they hadn't spotted anyone. The prison had changed once again and instead of rough dirt walls, white walls started to show up. According to the prisoner, this part of the prison was heavily guarded, but there was no one. Something was definitely up.

"Hold up," Temari said pulling out stopping to catch her breath. She definitely wasn't feeling any better, but this whole scenario was bringing in strength to her, she supposed it would be the same for Kankurou since he was supposedly incapable of doing any puppetry. Kankurou shifted the gourd on his back, and grabbed her hand to continue their search.

Everything seemed to go well until an unexpected fork met them. "Which way?"

A speeding kunai told them the left was in their best interest. Another one barely missed their heads, urging them to continue. Both siblings turned briefly to view three guards behind them.

"I think we lost them," Kankurou observed noticing the lessening kunai. But that was short said as they nearly crashed into two guards that stood in front of them. The three that were attacking them suddenly showed up behind them.

They were hiding.

The enemy could see from their few encounters that both of them were long range fighters. They had purposely set up the battlefield in a small cramped corridor where fighting would be almost impossible for them.

"This is the end for you," one of them said smiling maliciously.

"Block your eyes." Kankurou whispered. Reaching into his retrieved pouch he pulled out a small violet powdered ball, and slammed it violently to the ground. Instantly the air filled up with violet fog making it difficult to breathe.

"G-get them! They can't get away!"

But the guards stared in bewilderment as they touched what appeared to be sand replicas. They were fakes! Merely replication clones to throw them off. "What's that sound?" One of them said hearing a faint sizzling.

"Get out! Quick!"

There was no time for questions as the guards started scouring away. But it was too late.

BOOOM!

A deaf crying explosion split the air, sending a wave of flames in the small corridor. Bodies were thrown aside most of deeply burnt from the sudden heat. Bits of the wall were blown off into other rooms and the roof started showing sign of caving in. Smoke lingered in the air as the explosion subsided giving off a stench of ashes and burning skin. A few yards away three guards stood protectively over an enormous steel door shut tightly with seals and many locks.

"What was that?" one of the guards yelled out feeling the dull vibration in the air. He began to grow uneasy. Ibiki had warned to keep the topmost security despite the few guards, after the attack in the storage assembly went into motion. However, the other prisoners proved to be a problem. They could become tempted by the fight against those Sand shinobi and might rebelling. That was the last thing they needed right now: an entire uproar from the prison. The ambush created was done to stop the problem from growing, but that explosion didn't sound too good.

"Go check it out," he said ordering the two that were by his side. Nodding, they went to investigate.

"Ibiki was right. Those Sand shinobi are… you!" Speak of the devil they stood right in front of them, each of them holding a long sharp kunai. They had formed a plan of their own, as well.

"We won't let you finish that," Kankurou said pushing the fallen body aside. "Temari, I think Gaara is up ahead. The sand… it's moving like crazy," he said motioning to the sand. It had behaved itself so far, but now it was hissing to be let go and return to its master. Temari didn't say anything but continued searching the unconscious body of the fallen guard for keys to open the door. Finding it, she slowly began to unlock the locks. With the final lock, she took a final look at Kankurou almost as if asking him whether this was alright. He stared back at her sternly, completely focused at the upcoming obstacle ahead.

The thick door made hard to open, but once it was Temari and Kankurou couldn't help but gasp at the room. They had half expected to see Gaara; instead they viewed a large spacious room. The room inside was nothing compared to the rest of the prison. It was brightly lit with strange markings on the white walls. Everything was eerily quiet except for their footsteps.

"This place gives me the creeps," Temari whispered looking up at the oval high ceiling. Two spiral stairways were to the side leading to many floors above.

"I know. Let's just find Gaara and get out of here," Kankurou answered getting the same eerie feeling as Temari. He shifted the gourd on his back. The place resembled an asylum, was ironic since they all thought Gaara lost his sanity long ago.

"The markings on the walls, they're design to stop the formation of chakra. That's why there aren't a lot of guards out here." He nodded understanding her point, once again moving the gourd. The longer time they stood there, their bodies would become weaker as well.

"What's wrong?" Temari asked noticing her brother's struggling.

"The sand," he said trying to hold the weight of the heavy gourd. It kept hissing and moving violently within the gourd, like a snake. He couldn't take it any longer, dropping the sand to the title floor. A larder crack instantly formed on the top of the gourd followed by the flowing of golden sand. The simple action echoed loudly in the room, while the sand continued to litter the white polished floor.

"Crap, Gaara's gonna kill us," they muttered in unison bending down to put the sand within the gourd.

"You just had to drop it, didn't you?" Temari scowled lifting the sand to no avail. It was like trying to pick up water.

"Shut up!"

_Thump. Thump._

Both looked up as they heard approaching footsteps.

"No… it can't be…"

Standing right before them, were three animal masked shinobi dressed in black and gray armor carrying a katana on their back. Konoha's ANBU stared down at them.

_Shit! _

"You, Sand are very impressive. Not a lot of people could manage to escape. Using clones to make it seem as though they were you, then sending off that explosion as a distraction. You knew trying to avoid a fight, but in the end you walked right into one. This time we won't be so nice and give you mercy," he said eerily. He motioned his hand in the air and like once the ANBU completely surrounded them.

There was no way they could possible take all these guys. That fever was still draining away Temari's energy. He looked at his own crushed hands. They'd both seen first handed how far Karasu could move.

This was just like how they were captured; it was the same thing all over again. He looked down at the floor.

The sand was stirring.

"Kankurou…" Temari whispered. "We can take them…" She smiled with bravado.

He nodded. "Yeah, we'll fight until the end. We'll show these Leafs what we can do."

Releasing Karasu from his binds, he looked over at Temari as she opened her fan to the three violet shaped moons.

_Kugutsu no Jutsu!_

Karasu sprang back to life, spinning around the enemy. Another movement of his fingers and kunai were released from the puppets mouth, hitting the enemy from all places. It would have been effective with any other enemy, if they hadn't been clones and popped away in a cloud of smoke.

Two of them appeared behind him, however a quick push of Temari's iron fan in the stomach and they were thrown aside.

_Kamaitachi no Jutsu!_

Temari called out waving her fan and created the fierce winds. Using a jutsu, one of the ANBU returned the vortex back to its owner. Temari gasped out loud before she was picked up her feet and thrown aside. He heard Temari yelped out as she was thrown across the room. How much longer? This chakra feeding room was draining away what little energy they had left. After being reunion, they were going to be separated again? Karasu leapt to its feet and threw a series of poison blades to the distracted ANBU, but they threw their own weapons completely stopping the attack. He made the mistake of forgetting about the other ANBU, since he suddenly appeared behind him with a katana ready in his hands. His shoulder met the sharp blade as Karasu threw another kunai to lure away the attacker.

Gripping his shoulder, he peered over to make sure that Temari was alright.

The sand was stirring.

She stood up just in time as a set of kunai was about to reach her. Using the fan as a shield, Temari stopped the impact of the kunai. Karasu dashed to the attackers, but one of them simply hit him aside with his katana dropping the puppet on the floor. Karasu was too slow. His damaged fingers had allowed the enemy to easily detect the movement of the marionette.

He looked at the floor and approached Temari's side. They would get killed off in no time with their current position. He stared back at the floor. The sand was stirring.

"You've been lucky up to this far," they said surrounding them on either side getting ready to make their finishing move. "We'll make this quick."

In a flash, Kankurou grabbed a hold of Temari and leaped to the second floor.

A low rumble echoed in the large room. The hallway in front of them quickly emitted a sea of sand knocking anyone standing on the ground floor. A cascade of golden sand appeared out of nowhere not stopping until it licked the walls of the white prison room. The few that could manage to run away from the sea of sand, otherwise they were drowned in the sand. It only lasted less than five minutes, but the sand reached the second floor where Temari and Kankurou stood wide eye viewing the scene.

The dust subsided, and they saw a lone figure slowly coming out from where the sand had come from.

"Gaara."

* * *

Phew, that was a rather long chapter. Hope it wasn't too much all at once. 

--_Mel _


	8. Because Were Siblings

* * *

**Chapter VIII: Because were Siblings**

"You must either be very brave or extremely foolish for coming back here," Mitokado Homura said softly as he overlooked the once prosperous Leaf village. Many buildings were still in shambles while the normally loud, busy streets of Konoha were eerily quiet, as villagers moved soundlessly.

"Sunagakure has declared it surrender to Konohagakure. I have come for negotiations—"

"What makes you think we'll take that," Utatane Konaru interrupted. "Our village was destroyed, countless lives have been lost and our leader has been murdered."

"With all due respects, I deeply apologize for everything that has occurred. This was all a part of Orochimaru's doing. He impersonated our Kazekage and led the invasion of Konohagakure. We found the Kazekage's rotten corpse in a ditch, and have come into realization that we were too careless. Our only desire now is to return to peace with your nation."

Konaru sighed, before thinking deeply. "We have witnessed many battles and have seen our village become repaired only to be destroyed again. We are too old to be fighting in wars and simply too tired."

"Sarutobi was our leader as well as our formal teammate," Homura responded. "He took a liking to peace... and we have too," he smiled. "Very well... we shall be willing to discuss negotiate after the memorial service."

Baki bowed deeply. "Thank you... I-I have a personal request from you. My students... my students were captured during the retreat. I humbly ask their release."

-----

"Gaara."

Temari and Kankurou stood frozen on the second floor, simply watching Gaara. A few minutes ago both of them had been fighting for their lives, but Gaara had just come along and swiped away the ANBU as though they were nothing but ants.

The boy walked slowly in the middle of the room, his footsteps leaving a trial in the sand. _He doesn't even have a scratch on him, _Kankurou thought noticing his pale flawless skin. The blood stains, bruises, cuts, bandages, all were gone. Even the damage from that Uchiha's jutsu was gone. It was as if nothing had happened.

That boy lying in the forest, covered in blood and sweat, and on the brim of consciousness didn't exist. Perhaps seeing Gaara defeated was just some strange dream because he looked just as distant and powerful as before.

Coming back from his thoughts, Kankurou jumped down of the railing to what used to be the bottom floor. Sand littered the entire room almost making it seem as though the desert had been stored in here.

"Are you alright?" Kankurou asked, as he felt Temari leap right beside him.

He didn't say anything, but walked passed him, and placed both his palms on the sandy floor, there was a soft hissing as the sand started to produce the large gourd that Gaara wore so infamously on his back. "It cracked," he stated examining the rough surface.

"Well... It kinda fell," Temari said smiling sheepishly at him, but Gaara didn't look like he was in the mood for any humor.

He continued to stare at the deep crack, making both Temari and Kankurou uneasy for having dropped it. Maybe the sand would come lashing at them, and burying them alongside the fallen ANBU. But several minutes passed, and still they were in one piece. Instead of a death threat, Gaara busied himself with securing the gourd onto his back. He stood easily—not at all minding that an extra fifty pounds were added onto his shoulders—and began to walk pass both of them not stopping until he reached the end of the room.

He inspected the inscriptions for a moment, still not speaking to either of them. And then he lifted his left hand in front, rushing tons and tons of sand to gather around, forming into an enormous blob. Gaara closed his fist, causing the sand to mount higher and higher into the air, forming a heavy cudgel. He pushed a pale hand towards the wall, and in a split second there was an earsplitting noise, followed by clouds of white dust. The sand pulled back, quickly revealing a long, ugly crack on the once smooth wall. Another four tries and a large hole was produce, the sand spilling into the next room and becoming still.

"Let's go," he said walking through the opening. Nodding in agreement, Kankurou and Temari walked behind him.

A few more tumbled walls later and the pale blue sky started to come to view, although the blue wasn't as bright as it used to be. It broaden gray, marking the entire site gloomy and rather depressing. Though the sky wasn't the problem at the moment.

"Who the hell creates a prison overtop some freaking volcano!" Kankurou thought out loud gazing out to the bubbling lava.

Like any other prison, it was set on an isolated island, however unlike any other prison it was surrounded by red molted lava. A flatten dirt road lead to the edge of the cliff showing that there must be some sort of drawbridge to get to the other side.

"A very smart person," Temari noted. Even if prisoners somehow got pass the guards there was still the problem of actually leaving. The distance between the two edges was so far apart that not even a skilled shinobi could leap across. The only option they had left was to lower the bridge, but that no doubt would lead to more conflict. Temari sighed, touching her hastily wrapped wounded arm, and suddenly feeling very tired.

Studying the landscape, Gaara reached behind his gourd, pulling out a handful of sand. He blew on it, an invisible wind blowing that handful of sand across one edge to another.

A minute passed then, in complete silence with the hurling of molted lava and the quick heartbeats of both Kankurou and Temari. Neither of them asked Gaara what he was doing, for fear of his wrath. And then there was a loud, crisp snap, like the sound of a twig snapping in the dark.

Gradually the boulders that overlooked the cliffs began to break off, breaking into large chunks, but quickly gathering into fine dust. Before long, particles reached him, floating in front as though awaiting some type of orders. He flattened his hands as though he was straightening a piece of paper and in no time at all Temari and Kankurou could see a steady thin bridge of sand that reached from their point to the other side.

Finished with his bridge making, Gaara placed a step on the sandy bridge, easily as though he wasn't standing fifty feet high from a sea of molted lava, rather a small pond. He took three steps before he stopped and turned back to them.

"Well?"

"Y-yeah," Kankurou stuttered. He glanced at Temari, noticing her wide teal eyes trail down the bridge.

"Don't you think there's another way?" She glanced down, noticing the bubbling lava splatter some lava a few feet. Her face paled

A thin string of sand connected two cliff sides together, too thin that it almost could have been considered tightrope walking. One faulty move and it was a long, long tumble down into a fire, crispy death.

"Well what other choice do we have?" he answered, sounding scared. He grabbed her hand. "We'll done tightrope walking before," he said trying to comfort her, but still having a hard time shaking that fear off his voice.

"Yeah," Temari answered, remembering their early training with Baki. The whole exercise was to gather chakra at the bottom of their feet, kind of that whole tree climbing exercise she'd seen a couple of Leafs doing, except their method was probably a lot safer. A thin wire was connected from one canyon to another, and as students they were required to safety get across. The thought of failing this exercise never occurred, since it meant a nasty fall 10 foot drop with many broken bones.

Concentrating chakra to the sole of their feet, and taking a step forward on the sandy bridge they were reacquainted with that basic exercise they had learned so long ago. For a while things seemed to be going well, and they were almost halfway through when an unexpected quake rushed across the bridge. Kankurou gripped her hand tightly.

"Gaara?" she said looking up at him. What if he was getting bored of waiting for them and just wanted his sand back? And knowing Gaara, he would let them fall down to their death, just to get what he wanted.

Both took another step, and again that same quaking rushed again. And then out of a blue, there was a 'swoosh' as a kunai was being torn, snipping out a bit of her blonde hair.

"Some prisoners have escaped!"

"Pull the bridge down!" someone yelled from the side they just came from. There was a clatter of footsteps as guards quickly rushed to the scene.

"Shit! Why now?" Kankurou swore having realized the enemy standing behind them. He knew they guards were bound to figure out about their escape—bringing down walls wasn't that easy to ignore—but he didn't think they would start attacking them when they stood helpless fifty feet from a top of a bridge. Taking out Karasu wasn't a good option either because of his little chakra left and he seriously doubt Temari could do much more with that wounded arm of hers.

"We gotta hurry—" Temari began but then stopped, hearing the release of weapons behind her. She closed her eyes, already anticipating the sharp kunai stabbing her flesh and the sudden velocity throw her off her feet and falling down, down to a certain death. She gripped Kankurou's hand tighter, accepting what was to happen.

But the kunai made an odd noise as though it had crashed into a wall. She glanced behind her, noticing a wide wall of sand behind them, shielding then from any attacks, and allowing them to continue walking. There was muffling sounds from the other side of the wall as the guards tried to bring it down.

Gaara stood on the other side of the cliff, a hand in front of him with fingers spread evenly out. _Gaara would never do anything like this, _Temari thought realizing that he voluntarily saved them. Was… was Gaara changing? Not only this, but everything so far. Everything from the time he buried those ANBU, he hadn't treated them hostile in any way; rather he was helping them get through this. She felt a tug on her hand, and quickly pushed away her thoughts, focusing instead on getting to the other side.

They took a leap as soon as they were close enough. At once the bridge and wall of sand started to dissolve, the many guards strangely absent. Gaara turned, about to head off and as usual expecting them to follow. He took a leap to a boulder, but didn't see the wave of kunai that fell down from the sky.

"Gaara!" Temari and Kankurou called out surprisingly and quickly rushing towards him. They no more took a few paces when there was a loud thud of something colliding with the earth.

_Clank!_

The wooden bridge echoed loudly from being drawn down soon a sprint of green vested guards approaching them quickly.

Particles of sand subsided, falling into the ground and dropping down kunai after kunai into the floor. The sand had formed a shield, despite the sudden attack, and had carefully wrapped around its master immediately protecting him from harm.

"No way!" a guard muttered more to himself. "He didn't even do any seals!"

"Hit him again!" another one yelled to the squad. They dug into their pouches and each produced a weapon, all of then throwing kunai simultaneously. Another thick shield of sand grew from the ground, immediately blocking the attack. The kunai stuck on the wall before the sand started to retreat back into the ground dropping a small gathering of metal onto the ground.

Another movement of hands and the sand widen, sweeping towards the six guards that attacked him. They screamed out, thrashing about as the sand threw them over the edge of the cliff into a drop of lava, almost like a broom throwing dirt out the door. And then the sand flew back, innocently awaiting orders. More were crossing that wooden bridge, attacking them with hatred for their fallen comrades.

"Wait Gaara, I think we should—" Kankurou began but was fallen on deaf ears as Gaara moved his palm in his ever-so-famous ninjutsu. Fighting an entire prison was clearly not in their best interest, sure Gaara could take care of himself, but he and Temari were barely hanging on.

_Sabaku Kyū!_

Sand roared towards the guards quickly yanking them from their feet and suspending them a few feet from the floor. The fine textures of sand gripped human flesh tightly until there was the sickening sound of broken human bones. Cries never escaped from their mouth, simply because the sand was suffocating them, and there was no way to cry. The sand dropped to the floor, not showing any remains, since the four men had become just like the sand. There was that same smell of blood in the air.

Another squad approached the bridge, prepared to fight, but the sand began acting once again, and they all jumped back in fear. It rose to the air, like a monstrous tidal wave, and crashed down into the center of the drawn out wooden bridge. A deep crunch echoed loudly in the air as the enormous weight and speed of the sand effectively ripped the bridge in shreds. Fragments of wood fell down into the lava below them.

"You'll never get away with this! You monster!" another guard yelled out, angrily but stranded in that blotch of land.

Gaara walked away, taking a glance at both Temari and Kankurou before turning away.

_He's not going to fight?_ Kankurou thought noticing how Gaara had withdrawn from a future fight. By destroying the bridge, guards wouldn't be able to follow them. He was definitely acting different.

Neither one of them said a word as Gaara continued to lead the way. In all honestly, Temari and Kankurou had no idea where they were heading, but then again this was usually the case when they were doing missions. Gaara lead and they were forced to follow; if he said they weren't stopping, then they weren't stopping; if he said he didn't like that plan, then it was thrown out the window. Since Gaara became part of their team, they were forced to do everything he said because they much favored their lives.

The land started to change as they went deeper and deeper to the unknown until the rocky plains were far away from them. By the time Gaara stopped to look at his surrounds, Temari and Kankurou already knew were they were at.

"We really got this far?" Temari said astonish how far they had gone. High into the sky, the Sand shinobi stood atop a carefully carved mountain, looking down the large village of Konoha, standing on the monuments of the previous Hokages. When they first came to the village they saw the large booming of businesses, the laughter of children, and the happy chattering of people, but now the Leaf village was in shambles. Buildings and roads were destroyed with debris littering the roads. There were no cheerful movements from before, but more like a solemn silence that befell on the entire village. There were repairs being done, of course, but still it would be a long time for the village to go back to its prosperity. Temari moved her gaze to the large red arena that looked the worst. It was that very same arena they stood a few weeks ago where they had to prove themselves in order to become shinobi. Funny that the Chuunin Exams only happened two weeks ago, when the entire memory seemed to have happened years ago.

_That's it I give up. _A sort of anger began to bubble towards her, remembering her humiliating defeat. It was out of pity that Nara surrender, not out of a lack of chakra, and that excuse was just plain derogated. She bit her lip, turning her head from the arena.

"They must be having the memorial," Kankurou thought out loud, moving his gaze to a small gathering to the far left. A crowd of black objects stood on the rooftop from below as the villagers of Konoha gave their respects to their fallen warriors. "We should get going," Temari said, beginning to walk away. "With most of the village in the memorial, then it'll be easy for us to go out undetected." Kankurou nodded, following her, but then stopped as he realized Gaara was not in front, leading them like usual. He stood quiet still, silently taking in the village.

"There are fewer of them."

"Well, we were just in war with them," Kankurou answered.

Gaara continued to stare off into the crumbled village, but then he turned and silently landed on a stepping stone of the mountain that headed into the village. But then something strange happened. Something they hadn't experience within their own village for a very long time.

Rain drizzled on the ground.

"It's rain?" Temari asked feeling the cool droplets land on her body. She smiled, cupping her hands to collect the droplets of rain.

To any other person, rain might have been a nuisance after all it did interfere with normal activities. But as desert dwellers, they treated rain as a miraculous phenomenon. It only rained twice in the harsh desert and it wasn't this soft drizzling water, it was the heart-stricken thunderstorms that banged loudly across the gray sky sending the entire village in fear.

_This is a good sign_, Kankurou thought. He didn't even mind that the water was ruining his face paint, but just listened to the pitter patter of the rain. The rain was bringing in a new hope that they would somehow get through this.

-----

The enormous gates of Konoha were shut tightly. But as though that wasn't enough, shinobi had to take turns watching for any intrusion.

"Everything sure is quiet," Izumo muttered to himself, waiting for his fellow comrade, as he returned from break. "The Hokage's death really has upset everyone." The sky above seemed to echo the village's thoughts as it continued to rain softly, like a crying child. He closed his eyes, feeling more than exhausted these pass few days than his entire shinobi life. These pass few days were filled with apprehension, thus the council had assigned all shinobi to missions, giving them only a day's break before handing them more work. As he lay in his musing, a strong wind came out of nowhere. He blocked his face with his arm as the winds started to pick up even more sped knocking him onto the floor. But just like that it suddenly died out.

"Don't tell me you're that exhausted," Kotestu asked standing behind him. He looked at his comrade questioning, briefly wondering why he was lying on the wet, muddy ground in the middle of the road.

"Some wind threw..." he said standing up. "Uh... Never mind…" he finished. He probably slipped off the wet pavement or something. There could have been no way a wind was that strong.

"Hey, the gate was opened," Kotetsu said frowning at the carelessness of his comrade. "Someone could have gotten in."

"Huh? I could have sworn it was closed!" Turning to shut the gates, Izumo noticed the gates were slightly ajar not completely opened but enough for a person to go through. "Actually it looks like someone could have gotten out," he said thoughtfully. The leaves of a tree shuffled off in the distance. His eyes widen as he realized that wasn't an animal. "Kotetsu, Look!"

"What? I don't see anything."

"Look over there! On top of that tree!"

He gasped as he saw a small blur of red, before it sped away. "Get... Ibiki... there's been some trouble in the prison."

-----

"This got infected," Kankurou sighed after examining the wound. The wound was at least seven inches long colored into a sickly green. Pus was emitting from the wound, giving off a foul odor. Her muscle seemed to have split in two. He touched her forehead feeling the heated glow.

"You got wet, too. That could lower your immune system, just as bad as that infection." For three hours they had been traveling nonstop through the thick forests of Konoha. The village was far away from them and there hadn't been any pursuers, as of yet. Darkness was falling, and they certainly didn't want to be walking around in the dark. Gaara was silently looking off in the side, observing the interaction between the two.

"At least the poison is gone; I was more worried about that."

"What about your hands?" she asked noticing that they were in shreds and bent at odd angles.

"Don't worry about it," he stood up, wiping dirt from his pants. "I'll go start a fire. Just stay here and take it easy, 'kay?"

"Okay. Don't go too far," she called out as he started to retreat. He lifted his hand behind him to reassure her, and then disappeared.

Temari shivered, feeling cold and sick. Her tired eyes looked up, but just as quickly went back down. Gaara was sitting in front of a tree, watching her, which was odd, since he never took an interest in her before. She tried rubbing her hands, but the cool air was quickly taking any warmth away from her. It was during this time that she didn't like to be near Gaara, even thought there was no full moon tonight. Ever since that day: when she first came eye to eye with Shukaku, when she heard the demon's cruel laughter, and felt his terrifying wrath. Never in a million years will she forget that awful memory, and maybe that's why she feared Gaara the most out of all people. Because she still remembered his true powers and being in the mercy of such an evil creature.

_Temari, Kankurou I'm sorry_. She still couldn't get that out of her head. Gaara only apologized out of obligation when he didn't want to attract a lot of attention, like when he apologized to those kids Kankurou was messing around with. It wasn't a real apology, just a bunch of words to fool the enemy. But this time… The way he had said it… It sounded as though he was truly sorry about everything he had done. About causing all the distress and violence he had done to them over the years. He sincerely apologized on his own free will. Pushing away that awful memory, she looked up at him, clearing her throat.

"Um… Gaara… thanks for helping us back there."

"Your hand is shaking," Gaara observed.

"Oh, must be this fever," Temari said meekly.

His green eyes stared at her so carefully that goose bumps began to break out on her skin. He was examining her again. "Temari, you are the oldest. Do you remember when we first meet?"

"Oh sorry," she said embarrassed. The first time Baki and introduced Gaara to her and Kankurou, she had gone off in a nervous ramble. It wasn't until he said, 'Shut up or I'll kill you," that she finally shut her trap. Gaara was probably trying to tell her that again.

"Your hand was shaking then," Gaara clarified. She looked up at him, slightly surprised that he would remember something like that two years ago. "I thought I saw you before. I just don't remember where," he said thoughtfully.

Of course, Gaara had just turned five years old when they first encountered him. "Well… that's because you came with Yashumaru to the Kazekage's palace," Temari answered already feeling the old memories come rushing through.

Gaara frowned. "Tell me."

Temari looked at him stunned at his request. She tried to find her voice but found herself shaking.

_"Do you hear a sound?" Temari asked after hearing a faint crack. Carefully she approached her window, noticing the large crack on the glass window. If she didn't know any better it seemed as though it was stretching wider._

"Tell me," he repeated.

_CRACK!_

"Y-you came to do some training with Kazekage-sama."

_Out of nowhere the window completely shattered spewing sharp glasses all over the room. Reflexively she brought her arms to cover her face, and felt the sharp glass ripped through her flesh. _

"Go on," he said listening attentively.

"Um… you were so shy… always carrying a brown bear."

_More and more sand started to appear, carefully being molded by the howling wind. Finally after a few minutes the storm blew itself out and Temari stood in front of a large round shaped cocoon._

"We played jump rope all day…"

"_Gaara… what are you doing?" the seven-year-old asked fearfully. She slowly approached the cocoon and hesitantly touched the sand cocoon, but quickly drew her hand back as small droplets of blood started to fall from her finger. _

"Kankurou kept whining because he wanted to spend time playing with his new toy."

"_Gaara?" Temari softly whispering stepping back towards her door. The sand inside started to shift rapidly until a yellow star-shaped eye stared eerily at her._

"But I told him I was older and that he has to listen to me…"

"_I'm FREE!" It yelled out spraying the particles of sand aside, sending a strong gush of both wind and sand completely._

She looked up at him and forced a smile, finding feeling. "And you…"

_"Wait!" she cried out to the retreating figure, and then she froze saw that golden star-shaped eye staring back at her. It was as though her brain shut down and she did the only thing she could. She screamed. She screamed and screamed until tears started falling from her green teal eyes. Wrapping her arms around herself, she collapsed on the floor and continued to scream until she could no longer feel her voice._

"…you were all happy… because you didn't know you had siblings..."

She closed her eyes, suddenly finding it much harder to talk. "And then… you left… too early in the morning… so we couldn't say bye…ugh…" she moaned losing whatever strength she had left. Darkness covered her vision and she all together loss her balance, falling backwards. A small dust of sand caught her from touching the forest floor. Taking her into his arms, Gaara stared down at her closed eyes, still examining her. "Your hand was shaking," he whispered, touching her cheek, feeling heat emitting from her. "Even as a child you feared me, and because of this fear I can't form any bonds with you."

There was a soft thud in front of him as Kankurou came back from gathering wood. His face contorted to anger as he saw Gaara holding Temari.

"Get away from her!" Kankurou yelled, dashing to Temari. His breathing became heavy as the inevitable thoughts came into mind, hands forming into fist and back arched ready for battle. He scooped her in his arms, quickly feeling her heated body. Her breathing was coming irregular and sweat was gathering in her brow. "Temari…" he whispered gently laying her on the forest floor.

Gaara watched as Kankurou quickly started a fire and boiled some water. With the hot water, he slowly soaked Temari's arm hoping it would kill the bacteria. Retrieving the needle that had been boiling in the small pot, he applied the wound with the few anesthetics he was able to swipe back in the prison. As carefully as he could he started to stitch the split flesh together. Temari winced slightly from the prickling sensation but was still deeply asleep. It took over an hour to finally finish treating the wound, but still Temari wasn't looking any better. Putting a cool cloth on Temari's forehead, Kankurou could only hope the high fever would come down.

"Temari," he whispered brushing away her blonde bangs. "Hang in there."

He felt completely helpless watching his sister's quiet pale face. Temari had never been sick before and seeing her like this brought him a strange sort of uneasiness.

A few minutes passed before he started to treat his wounds. His left hand had turned into a dull blue from having doing puppetry when his fingers weren't healed properly. He knew the bone needed to be properly set, but the only thing he could do now was wrap it tightly. And this red blood clot symbolized the physical torture that he had to endure for just following orders. Memories of the interrogation came back as he still felt a dull ache in his fingernail, the crushing sensation of the thumbnail destroyed the bones from the inside, and Ibiki's mind tricks to get the information he wanted. He knew then he never wanted to feel that again, that crushing blow when someone tells you that important person is gone. Never again, he thought, remembering that old promise he had made long ago when they just moved in with Baki, and he had clutched that rusted kunai tightly, promising to be strong.

Kankurou lifted his head to the darken sky briefly wondering how all the events happened in just one day. This morning he was impersonating a Leaf prison guard now he was staring off in the darkening sky on the outskirts of Konoha. The fire provided a silhouette of Gaara sitting up on a nearby branch gazing at the starlit sky. If it hadn't been for Gaara then they probably wouldn't have made it so far; and he still accused him of harming Temari. It wasn't that far of an accusation, since Gaara threaten them all the time. But that still brought him some guilt. He sighed and jumped on the tree branch.

"Hey Gaara," Kankurou began awkwardly not used to talking to him. "I-I didn't mean to yell at you or anything. I'm just worried over Temari."

There was a moment's silence, as Gaara continued to stare off. "You thought I killed her," he answered still staring off.

Kankurou didn't answer. Another minutes passed with the grasshoppers chirping off in the distance.

"Kankurou?"

"Yeah."

"Do you love Temari?"

"W-what?" the question got him so off guard he neared tripped over his feet. "Um… well… um… what's with the question anyway?" he sputtered a tint of red appearing over his painted face. He turned his head quickly trying not to act—although he was—uncomfortable about the question. Obviously he loved Temari, but he just wasn't the type to say so out loud.

"For the first time, I saw real anger in your eyes. You we're willing to stand up to me," Gaara observed. _I won't let you hurt those people important to me…._

"Uzumaki Naruto showed me that love can make you stronger," he said softly. "He was just like me."_ They saved me form the hell of being alone… the hell of being alone… they acknowledged my existence… that's why they're all important to me…_

"Temari was telling me about the first time we met. In spite of what Temari says, I know something bad must have happened. I couldn't form bonds, then, because of the monster within me. She fears me just like you fear me.

Kankurou paused clearly remembering the frighten event so long ago.

"When we became a team, I remembered both of you, but I don't know from where. I was thinking that maybe, maybe there was some time when you didn't see the monster in me. This event, this early childhood, must have been significant if you continue to sustain all the abuse I've put you through. But I was wrong, both of you have feared me even as a child. Then what is it? If it was not in our childhood then what—what is it that makes both of you stay beside me?"

Kankurou sighed, thinking carefully before picking his next words. "Gaara, ever since Baki introduced us two years ago you straight out told us you'd kill us. While we were in that prison, Temari and I decided to go looking for you... We're not exactly on the friendliest terms, but we still… care about you, Gaara. I'm not going to deny it. Something bad did happen; and it's not easy putting those memories aside." He shut his eyes, remembering the terror of that night and that terrible feeling of being weak and unable to protect Temari when she needed it.

"But why? I am a monster. Why did you continue along side me? Why didn't you leave me rotting in the forest? Why didn't you leave me behind in that prison? I've treated you no better than the enemy. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of me. You love Temari, not me, why do you bother with me?"

"You're our little brother," Kankurou answered, looking at him.

For the first time Gaara finally looked at him a questioning look in his eyes. "I mean, sure siblings get on each other nerves, but still they have to look out for each other. You apologized. That's good enough from all the hell you've put us through."

Gaara stared at Kankurou. How can something so simple answer so many complex questions?

"That's it?"

"That's it."

* * *

The entire prison was actually Konoha Strict Correctional Facility in the anime filler episode 142. See fillers are good for something?

Edited January 16, 2008

_--Mel_


	9. Wavering Prejudice

**

* * *

**

**Chapter IX: Wavering Prejudice**

The soft splashes of the stream brought a soothing melody in the quiet forest. The night was silent, though periodically, there would be the sound of grasshoppers chirping in the distant, or the rustling of leaves as the wind blew them aside, or a small animal making its way back to its nest. There was a soft _thud_ of footsteps as someone approached the stream of water. A white rabbit peeked its small head from underneath the ground, but in an instant went back to hide.

Drawing some water to a basin, Kankurou began rinsing the dried cloth, though it was difficult with his damaged hands. He did the action without thought, and when he was done he splashed water upon his tired face, wiping away the face paint that was ruined much earlier. The cold water briefly awoke him from his exhaustion and fatigue.

It had been a rather long night, and he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, instead spent most of the night looking over Temari. Her fever had fallen a bit since yesterday, but still she wasn't at normal temperature. He spent the better part of the morning searching for any medical herbs in the area; so far he had been unsuccessful except for locating a stream nearby. He sighed. Judging by the lighting it was probably around three o'clock in the morning, Kankurou reasoned. Rivulets of violet kabuki paint danced on the water's surface, and he stood up, wiping the water from his face, and made his way back to the camp. An owl hooted off in the distant, but he paid no attention, and instead concentrated on the nearly invisible hidden trap, he'd created as a warning of anyone approaching.

The orange flames of the fire cracked softly in the cool, night air. His brow furrowed a bit as he noticed Gaara sitting against tree trunk, a few feet from Temari. Ever since his brief talk with Gaara, so many hours ago, the younger shinobi took refugee in the branch of a tree, keeping deep to his thoughts. Out of respect, Kankurou left him alone, and spent the night adding a cool cloth upon Temari's burning head. It seemed that the younger boy had figured things out, and was returning back to their world.

His red head spun automatically to the sound of his footsteps. They stared at one another for a minute, but nothing was said. Kankurou placed the cool cloth of Temari's forehead, she moved her head slightly at the contact, but beyond that she was still deeply asleep. She was breathing a bit heavily, cold sweat continued to trickle down her skin, and she occasionally muttered a few incoherent words. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the chirping of the crickets, until finally Gaara broke the silence.

"Is Temari going to die?" His voice was cool and calm like the night air, his calculating eyes scanned Temari's pale face before resting on Kankurou's face. His eyes darken, and his entire body froze, but he responded in a firm voice.

"No, she isn't." He was lying. "Temari's going to be fine, we'll make it home."

Gaara stared at him, quickly seeing past the lie. Both of them knew that it was merely faith that kept Temari breathing this long. She could die at any moment, and still Kankurou continued to maintain that false hope. It seemed irrationally. No doubt Leaf ninja would come after them, and with a lack of energy and resources, there was simply no way to fight another battle and get through the desert. The once proud children of the Kazekage were left with nothing. Bare, weaken, and alone they had nothing left, but hope. Hope that they would get to see the golden sand dunes, and rocky mesas of the desert.

It was a beautiful, beautiful crafted lie, Gaara thought.

_I'll definitely protect them until the end! _

Uzumaki Naruto said those words fiercely, and he meant it. The blonde boy fought a losing-battle, but the need to protect the people he loved continued to fuel his strength. He could see it now, how Kankurou stayed up so vigilantly watching over Temari. He seemed to be in so much pain. His love to Temari must be making his like this, depressed and illusionist; whereas he, who had disassociated himself with any beings, didn't think too much of her condition. Death was so natural to him, and he saw no reason to be affected by this awaiting death. But he supposed that this death would mean a lot to Kankurou that if Temari did die. _Those emotional wounds that…_ Gaara shook his head not wanting to remember the person that had muttered those words. There was a moment's silence broken only by the crackling of the fire and the uneven breathing of Temari.

"She needs… medicine," Gaara said hesitantly, briefly recalling where he had heard the term from.

"There aren't the proper herbs around—"

"There is a town nearby Konoha. I heard a few Leaf shinobi speaking about it."

Kankurou moved his head to look at the younger Sand shinobi, and upon seeing no doubt, he pulled out a wrinkled paper from within his pouch. He smoothed out the sheet, quickly running his finger through the markings until he at last was able to make an approximation of their location. Gaara stood to his side, watching him. "We should be right here. That means there should be a small town north of here," Kankurou said more to himself, but then frowned.

This town stood behind them, meaning that more time would be wasted on going there and back again, but what was considered worst was the town's location. It was too near Konoha and there was a good chance of running into Leaf shinobi. It was too risky to more Temari, especially close to enemy territory. That meant one of them had to go to the town and the other one had to remain with Temari.

"I will take care of Temari."

He darted quickly to view Gaara; half expecting someone else to have said that, after all when had Gaara taken an interest to them? He was independent. He cared about no one, often did things that could have gotten both of them killed.

"Gaara, I don't think..."

"You do not trust me?" Gaara asked voicing out Kankurou's thoughts.

"Well…" He just didn't think that Gaara should handle something so important. Temari was everything to him, and it was only because they had each other did they survive their childhood, the impossible expectations of their father, and the wrath of their brother. No, Temari wasn't just some scroll from a mission that needed to be protected; she was more valuable than that.

"I give you my word that no harm shall befall on Temari," Gaara said, their eyes meeting with each other. That same silence fell on them, this time lasting much longer than before. Kankurou toyed with the idea of letting Gaara go to the town, but he absolutely knew nothing of medicine –having never been injured or sick before– or bringing Temari with them, but that would be more dangerous then helpful.

"Alright," he finally said breaking the eye contact. There was no other choice. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said picking the wrapping of Karasu and swinging it over his back. He had no clue whether Karasu would provide any protection, after all the puppet as well as his hands, needed major repairs.

There was another minute's silence, as Kankurou gathered a few items to begin on the short journey, folding the map and placing it within his pocket. Gaara stood behind him, arms crossed and watching him as he moved about. At last when he got himself organized he bent down to see the unconscious Temari and brushed away her golden locks. The intimate action caused Gaara to move his head aside, deciding that this was too personal for him to be viewing. Having been born without love, he didn't think it was proper to see the actions of other people that loved each other. For the first time, he felt awkward around them; as though he was a surplus and should just leave them alone. He did not fear corpses, or dismantled bodies, but for some reason this scene made him uncomfortable.

He stayed like that for a few minutes, before rising and looking at him. There was a serious look in his eyes and he stood tall not at all scared of his half insane brother. "Take care of her," he said one more time and then disappearing into the dark forest. Gaara watched Kankurou as he leapt to a tree branch and dash away. And he thought for a minute that Kankurou would be in excruciating pain if Temari died, and that maybe his own emotional wounds would never heal.

---

Ignoring the pain in his legs, Kankurou continued to dash through the thick trees. He felt a bit lightheaded and fatigue from not getting any proper rest in the last few days, but he pushed it aside for the sake of Temari. He figured that he would just get Temari's medicine and then return in an instant. The less time he left Gaara alone with Temari, the better things would turn out. There was still that bit of distrust he harbored towards Gaara, since hearing his brother twisted philosophy. Shifting Karasu to another shoulder, he dashed further on.

After half an hour of traveling, the trees began to clear to a wide expanse of land. A dark valley loomed out before him with a dirt made road that lead to the north, electric poles were planted to side of the dirt road that probably lead to the village that Gaara was referring to. The ground was shifted from the footprints of humans and cattle alike, and it stretched off in the distant. He landed on the dirt road, consulting with the stars to the direction north and once again running at full speed to the village.

He arrived just as the dawn was breaking out. Festival stands, balloons, and colorful buildings made up the village, as far as he could see. The streets were relatively empty, but the air was tensed with a feeling of festivity, and the smells of spiced food and sweets. Indeed, it seemed funny that people could be thinking about a festival after all the hardship they had gone through. Pushing the thought aside, he ran from building to building in search for a pharmacy, but having no luck whatsoever. It was too early in the morning, and most of the townspeople were awaking and getting ready for the coming day. He passed by another festival stand, where the aroma of freshly cook bread filled the air. Anger overcame him, as he realized time was ticking by and he still he couldn't find a freaking pharmacy! Really did this town spend everyday partying? He stopped running then, feeling once again that bit of fatigue. He took another step, his whole body protested, wanting nothing more than to lie down for a moment.

The creaking of an opened door sounded off in the distant, and without meaning to he felt his legs resolving below him. Kankurou crumpled to the ground quickly becoming engulfed in a sea of darkness.

---

The wind whipped her long violet hair, obscuring her vision, but she quickly pushed away her locks, and continues on her path. She had just done to visit the memorial stone, where the heroic names of the brave shinobi were carved carefully on the surface. She stood rooted to the spot, watching just one name in particular. Hayate.

The injustice of what had been done was just too overwhelming. Hayate did not deserve to die; he was a good man, deeply devoted to his village, helped anyone without wishing for nothing in return, and ever so respectful and kind. They were going to get married. She'd envisioned it all: the large gathering of people –friends, comrades, old teachers– all cheering happily with music playing in the background. He would be at the end of the aisle, dressed up so handsome with a small smile on his face. And she would be walking to him, dressed in a beautiful gown and carrying a bouquet, with a smile on her own face.

But fate is cruel. She carries a bouquet everyday, but with a sad face, and instead of walking down the aisle to his shining face, she walks to the cold stone where his name is carved. Fate continued to mock her, as Hayate's killer continued freely out in the world, showing no remorse for the misery he had cost. There was no way she would let this simply past, she would avenge her lover, and bring the same pain and angst to Baki.

That was all Yugao did in her free time, visit Hayate's and search desperately for any information of Baki. Finding his name was difficult, but after she had gone through her connections and recreated the scene, she discovered his name. Now if only she had a face to go with that name. There was no known record in the village of the appearance of Baki. He wasn't even included in the profile of his students; instead a question mark and a blank space appeared.

She sighed. This Baki was a mysterious person. The only method she could think of finding him was to go to Suna and then ask for his whereabouts there. But she couldn't do that right now when everything was in complete chaos. For now she would just have to wait.

Her footsteps echoed softly on the wooden planks as she crossed a curved bridge. However, just beyond the bridge there stood a man looking below the soft stream of water, as if deep in thought. He wore heavy dark robes that touched the ground. Carefully, she walked up to him, putting up her guard.

"Can I help you?" she asked, though her voice showed no hospitality. The stranger turned his head. He wore a white turban, with a drapery that hung on the right side of his face, and his neck covered in bandages. What she could see of his face was toughed, as though from the pounding of the wind and the harsh rays of the sun. Small red triangles were painted near his eye, and when he spoke it was in a deep voice.

"No."

"What business do you have here in Konoha, then?"

He looked at her a bit crossly, and then turned his head sharply. "It's none of your concern where I come from." She stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"It is my concern," she stated, her eyes growing narrow.

However, he did not seem at all intimidated. He took a side step, and began walking to the opposite direction. "I'm just looking for some children."

---

A bright light brought him back to consciousness. Kankurou sat up on a small bed, slowly taking in his surroundings. The room was void of any decorations, except for a small vase of flowers set on a table to the side. The walls and floor was white, giving him the impression of a hospital, however a small picture frame to the side told him that he must be in someone home. It looked to be a family portrait with the mother and father to the side, while the three children—two boys and a girl—stood in the middle, each of them had a smile on their face.

His tired eyes gazed toward the window, half expecting to see the clouds of sand scratching on the glass, but he only saw the a gathering of tall trees, and the blue sky above. Where was he? Judging by the window outside and the rooms architecture he was still in Fire Country, which meant that Gaara and Temari were still out there alone in the wilderness. Shock struck him then like a lighting bolt. How long had he been out? Were Temari and Gaara alright? Had Konoha started searching for them, already?

The door opened, then, and he quickly dug in his pouch to search for a weapon, and realizing that it had been taken from him. His face was wiped free of his paint, and he was missing his shirt, but what he found worst was that Karasu was nowhere in sight. He sat up quickly, though a faint dizziness was quickly coming at him.

"You're awake." He looked to the side to see a young woman holding a tray with a small teapot and a cup. She looked as though she was troubled by something, but then smiled at him, and placed the tray to a table that stood to the side. She had long, dark hair that was pulled back into a single ponytail, and a pair of dark brown eyes that stared at him tenderly, nonetheless. Based on her appearance, Kankurou guessed that she must be in her early twenties.

"Good morning," her voice sounded sweet, and her kimono shifted slightly as she approached his bed side. "I see you're finally awake. You'd been asleep for so long that I began to worry you were in some type of a coma," she added thoughtfully.

"H-how long have I been asleep?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit strained, a dull ache was forming in his temple, and he found it difficult to keep focus.

"Well, you've been asleep for two days," she answered, absentmindedly, placing the tray beside the table stand. She took a seat to a chair to the side, and began busying herself with taking out its contents. "My brother and I found you while I was returning home from buying our morning bread."

"Two days?"

She must have sensed the strained of his voice, since she looked up to him. "Yes, you were severely exhausted, not to mention dehydrated."

Kankurou didn't answer. His mind was already off thinking ahead. Two days? Konoha was bound to search for them after their grand escape. Had… had they caught up to Temari and Gaara? Had they been captured? No. Gaara couldn't be captured, he was too powerful… but he was captured before…. But that was because he was unconscious. And what if… what if Gaara simply left Temari alone? He said he would take care of her, but Gaara had never taken care of anyone in his entire life. He was independent, arrogant, and demanding. Had he simply got bored and left her, alone and vulnerable in enemy territory?

She asked for his name, and he simply made one up. "I've wanted to heal your hands but I figured it would be best if you were awake, and I guess I came at the right time." She took a small white towel, and set it on her lap, carefully placing a basin down. Her hands were soft, as she touched his wrist, carefully and with a certain expertise, undid the bandages. His hands, still the pale blue and pinkish at the tip, seemed to have been cured considerably, as she carefully dipped them down on the lukewarm water.

The young woman exchanged her name and told him she was a doctor by profession, though she wasn't from here. After the attack of Konoha there was a large demand of doctors, so she and her brother had traveled to Konoha, but couldn't stay in the village since it was still in shambles. "My uncle taught me medical ninjutsu," she said, after patting his hands dry with the towel. She took his left hand onto her own, and produced a faint glowing from the tip of her fingers. "It'll usually take you weeks to heal bone fragments that were _this_ destroyed, though it might hurt a bit."

He didn't feel it at first, but within a few minutes there was a tingling sensation in his hands, and that soon formed to a terrible ache as he realized his bones were growing in minutes. It lasted almost an hour, but when she was done he definitely could see the effect. The cuts and bruises on his edge were gone and he could fully rotate his wrist and flex his fingers. The young woman wiped her brow, sighing a bit in exhaustion, and then took his other hand. She talked a lot, mostly about her work and her home village, but she still kept focus on her current work, allowing him to continue with his thoughts.

The same doubts continued to fill him. He shook his head. Gaara said he _would _take care of Temari, he shouldn't be doubting him. He needs to trust him, have faith in him. He told him just a few nights ago that he was his little brother. Did that not mean anything? Was it all just sweet talk to pacify him? He knew it then that he shouldn't be seeing Gaara as the monster he had encountered so long ago. That monstrous sand demon with the star-shaped eyes and booming voice that nearly destroyed Suna so long ago; and that sent Temari crying and in shock, not wanting anything but just sitting dumbly in the corner and staring off in the distant, shaking and silent; that same demon that sent him weak and unable to eat or sleep for an entire week.

"Did you visit Konoha?"

"Huh?" he asked. She repeated herself. "Yeah, I spent some time there," he answered.

"Did you like it there?" She asked.

He thought for a minute. Beyond the failed mission, the imprisonment, and their current pathetic state, he began to see something different in Gaara. Apologizing in the forest? Rescuing them from the ANBU? Taking care of Temari, while he was away? The fight with Uzumaki must have done something to him, he was changing. And here he was accusing Gaara, thinking badly of him, and doubting him, after everything that he had done. None of this would have happened if they hadn't come to Konoha. Perhaps Gaara would still be as cold and uncaring, if they never did come to Konoha. "I can't exactly say," he answered. "It's just too different from my village."

"I know. My village is really small, and when I came to Konoha, I was just amazed. Konoha must have been beautiful before the attack. It's a shame what happened, really."

"Yeah."

When she was done with the other hand, he made a move to climb out of bed, but instead he felt his legs give way and his whole body falling face forward upon the wooden floor. The young woman sprinted in a hurry, knocking aside the cup of tea, but getting a firm grip on his shoulders; she heaved for a moment, but reluctantly sat him up on the bed. "You really shouldn't be out of bed, yet." Her tone was firm, not gossiping as she had been a few minutes ago, but stern as a doctor should be. "You body is still exhausted."

He sat on the bed, not listening to her scowling.

_Temari, Kankurou... I'm sorry. _

Somewhere they had come to associate that Gaara was indeed Shukaku, and he would transform into that terrible demon and bring death and chaos. And they forgot that Gaara was still their brother. He was even more alone than they were, and he was starting to come through to them. He had apologized, and that meant he was truly sorry for that, he wanted to start over.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" The medic's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"You're a shinobi aren't you? I've been treating wounded Leaf shinobi all week, so I could tell you were in some type of battle. Could you tell me what happened?"

Kankurou's body tensed. If someone were to know him, there would be no doubt that he would be hailed off to that prison once again. He needed to leave this place soon. "I rather not say," he answered. The less she knew about him, the better off. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. "Why do you look so troubled?" she asked, staring at him with concern.

"I left someone important behind," he said bowing his head down in shame. "And I don't know if he's taking care of her."

"Now, you're probably worrying for nothing," she said her voice chipper. There was a knock in the distant, she rose from her chair and headed to the door. "I'm sure he'll take care of her."

It was time for him and Temari, to finally forgive Gaara and get rid of that prejudice they had against him. "I hope so, too."

* * *

Sorry for the rather late update! 

_--Mel_


	10. Dazed Sentiments

**

* * *

****Chapter X: Dazed Sentiments **

"Is this your family?" Kankurou asked holding the photograph and staring at each of the occupants with interest. The sun was just about to set, and he had been given a warm meal by the medic. She talked a lot about her job, and her home village, though Kankurou listened half-heartedly. He was feeling a lot better than before, and had more than enough energy to go back to the small camp they had set up. Out of curiosity, Kankurou had picked up the frame; a sort of strange recognition grew upon him. He could tell make out the young medic, though much younger, and could imply that the two other people were relatives of hers.

"Yes," she said smiling. "Those are my two younger brothers and that's my mother and father. My father's a merchant. He travels often to other villages with my youngest brother. There's my brother, you remember him right? And that's my mother's back at home, probably worrying about us," she said her lips curving to a smile. "Though my uncle always tells her that everything is going to be alright, she still can't help but worry, especially over my youngest brother."

She mentioned their names, and retold a few stories about her family. How her mother was so beautiful and very delicate with her children; how her father was ever so serious, but in the end her youngest brother could still put a smile on his face; and how her uncle was so understanding and full of wisdom. Kankurou looked down at the photograph one last time, a smile growing on his face as he listened to her stories, and carefully set the photo aside on the table. The family that should have been…

"I need a medicine," Kankurou said suddenly.

"But you are nearly done healing."

"One of my comrades got an infected wound. She has a fever that just won't go away." He told her the other symptoms, and the medic listened carefully, asking a few extra things before answering that she would be able to get the proper medication, but it would be best if she could properly see the person. Kankurou sat silently on the bed, and she took that as a note that the request was not possible.

"I'll start working right away," she answered instead, and began to take her leave. "It should be ready by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kankurou asked. He had hoped that she would give him the medicine now, and then he would be off. Two days was enough time. Noticing the apprehension in his voice, she reassured him that the medication would be ready early in the morning, and could he just get some rest for now? Another night wouldn't endanger his comrades, and it was fairly dangerous to be traveling at night, anyway.

He wasn't exactly thrilled about the plan, but agreed in the end.

The sun glowed brightly, the next morning, bathing the scene with orange, and at once the birds began to chirp happily for the start of a new day. "Damn, I hate birds," Kankurou muttered to himself, more than wishing to just open the window and throw something to stop the annoying squeals. Another sleepless night went by with his thoughts filled by on the whereabouts of his siblings. It just didn't seem alright that he was well attended to when they were in misery. He had just fallen asleep, when the sun had risen and the birds started yapping.

The medic was still asleep, since he heard no movement downstairs, but he made a note that as soon as he heard a door creaking he'd be downstairs in a hurry. Shifting on the bed, he tried to fall asleep, once more, but found his mind simply buzzing, so instead he took the time to look out the window.

He stared in boredom outside the window, sighing deeply as two hours melted away. A strong breeze blew, shuffling the trees and it brought back a stupid song Temari used to sing when they were kids. Temari had a terrible voice, and would get so mad when he told her, and just sing even louder. He made another note to have Temari sing that song when they reached home.

And then he saw it.

It was so dim, anyone could have missed it, but by chance he just happened to be looking outside. Two dark shadows, shifting off in the background, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. With a certain ease, the puppeteer pulled back the curtain, daring to look further outside. For a minute, he fancied the thought that it was some animal making its way, but how many animals did he know that could move with that speed? He craned his neck, feline eyes scanning as far as they could to the wilderness beyond, but the shadows seemed to have disappeared as suddenly as they had return. Paranoid, that's what he was becoming, a complete nutcase! He laughed at himself, adding to his theory that he was going mental, but then he saw it!

He was so close to the window, then, his breath steaming the glass surface. There was another flash, completely absorbed in the two figures beyond, he fell off the bed, and landed roughly on the wooden floor. His back ached from the impact, but he quickly spun around and flew to the door. _Shit! What the hell are they doing here!_

He opened the door, exactly the same time as the medic was about to enter. The contact was so great; she slipped and fell, a paper bag dropping on the floor. There was a questioning look on her face as she looked up at him. "You just seem to be in a hurry, all the time."

He muttered a quick apology, and helped her to her feet. "What's seems to be the problem?" she asked.

The problem was that two shinobi were heading here. Why? Kankurou hadn't the slightest clue, but he didn't want to stick around to find out why.

"Um… you see… I…" he stalled; panic seeping into his words, making it difficult to make up a story. Glancing out the window, he spotted a wagon slowly creaking by, carrying two large bags. An old man was sitting at the front, waving good-bye to someone across the street. He needed to move quickly! "I was wondering if you'd seen a large bundle I was carrying."

She looked as though she wanted him to collaborate, but as usual she didn't ask anything else. "It's in the utility closet."

Leading him to a small utility closet, Kankurou saw Karasu wrapped in its bandages. The poor puppet…it had been weeks since it was properly fix. Again he made another note, to get Karasu properly repaired ASAP.

About twenty minutes later there was a knocking on the door. Excusing herself, the young medic went downstairs wondering once again about the stranger she had taken in. He acted very peculiar, and seemed to always be in a hurry.

When she finally reached the bottom of the steps and opened the door, her brown eyes opened widely at the two strangers on her front door. One was a bit taller than the other with thin black hair. His partner had short blond hair that felt gracefully before his chin. Wearing the typical green vest of a chuunin, the Leaf headband shone out from their forehead more than advising that they were here on official business. There stood two official looking Leaf shinobi looking all too seriously.

According to one of the festival stand owners, there was a boy trailing down the streets, dressed in black and carrying a large bundle wrapped in bandages. After much questioning, the two chuunin eventually made it to a small house set a bit far from the town, by the edge of the forest. A young woman opened the door, a bit surprise at the two shinobi, but nonetheless she had a kind face and answered her questions. She replied that yes she had seen that young boy and yes she had brought him back to her residence in order to treat him. She stared at the two in puzzlement, and asked for the meaning of their questions. Official Business, they replied, ordered out by Konoha's council. They had reason to believe that this stranger, she treated, could be dangerous, and for her own safety she should show him to them.

It looked as though she wanted to argue, but she just nodded her head, and led the men into her home and up the stairs. "Please step aside, this could get dangerous," the older chuunin said, pushing her aside. Then, standing to the side of the doorframe, they stood silently. A quick signal and the door was thrown open, both of them racing inside the room, a weapon in hand and ready for combat, but stopped short.

"He's not here."

Indeed. It looked as though no one had been there at all. The bed was properly made, the floor was cleaned, and the window opened to let gushes of fresh air. Even the dirty bandages that were thrown away in the trash can were gone.

"He must have escaped out the window." They muttered something else, and with a quick salute dashed back downstairs and left her alone to her thoughts.

How odd, she thought, he hadn't seem dangerous at all. He was basically worrying about that person that he kept mentioning, he even asked about a medication…the paper bag that she had dropped when he had bumped into her. She dashed up the steps, only to find that it was missing too. He had left so suddenly, that she was a bit disappointed that he hadn't said good-bye. One of the few qualities that she like about being a doctor was the gratitude she received from her patients, but she supposed they all couldn't be like that.

Sighing to herself, she sat on the bed, and noticed at once that the picture frame had fallen down, probably due to the wind. Setting it up, a small folded bandage was underneath. _Thanks_, was the single word inscribed.

----

"Hey, you there! Stop!" The blond chuunin called out, spotting a small wagon in the distance about to reach of the gates of the town. The covered wagon kept rolling ignoring the calls of the shinobi, but stopped on its track when the two figures appeared in front of the road. An old man was on top of the wagon, holding the reins to an even older mule. A deep scowl formed on the wrinkled face of the man, and he narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at being blocked off. "What's the meaning of all this? Can't a man leave in peace?" His voice was raspy, and he was missing a number of teeth.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," the older shinobi said sounding officially. "But we have reason to believe that these three Sand shinobi are dangerous, and for the safety of the public we have been order to restrain them." He produced from his pocket a black and white photograph of the ninja in question. The old man looked upon the picture for a minute before barking out in laughter.

"Dangerous? These are just a bunch of kids! I'd say to just let them be. What harm could the do?"

"They may be kids but we are required to take them into custody."

"What is the world coming to?" He yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "A bunch of kids dangerous? You Leafs should be ashamed of yourselves! Too busy slacking off and climbing trees that what I tell you, putting innocent people behind bars," he snorted in disagreement. "You should be putting real criminals away not chasing some kids." He said some other things about no sense of duty, and careless throwing resources away.

They both shifted slightly in embarrassment. "Look, sir, if we could just see what it is you are carrying."

"What do you think I'm SMUGGLING them out?" He shouted angrily.

"We're not saying that you're smuggling anyone out," he said smiling nervously, wishing he had never stopped the man. "It just may have been likely that they could have gotten into your wagon, that's all." But still the old man stared at him with suspicion, and looked as though he wanted to yell out more nasty remarks. "Please, sir, if you could just let us inspect your wagon, we'll make out way."

"Fine," he said angrily, feet falling onto the ground. He was much shorter than the two, and walked with a stiff foot, carefully clutching a brown paper bag. Moving to the end of the wagon, he pulled open the plastic. There was nothing there, except for three bags, and a few tools, along with bag of oat, apparently for the mule. "You see? Nothing!" He said irritably.

"What's inside the bags?" one of the chuunin asked, eyes examining all the continents. He touched the hammer, and it felt like a hammer. It wasn't some sort of shape shifted kunai or shuriken. Untying the knot, the old man pulled open the bag and took out a small red radish. "Radishes, or is that illegal to take?" He tied the bag quickly, and put it carefully to the side. The other two bags were opened and search, with nothing out of the ordinary found. Sighing, they apologized to the old man for having troubled them.

With a certain difficulty, the traveler took his proper seat and yanked the rein to the mule. It took off at once with the old man grunting something about Leaf being inadequate, slacking, and naïve.

And something about a Karasu.

----

"I humbly ask their release."

Baki didn't believe his request would be out of the question. After all, Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara were the Kazekage's children, and it could be expected, with certainty, that their release was favorable after the negotiations took place. But the two elder Leafs stared at him gravely, both their wrinkled faces looking at him as though he had said something that should have been kept quiet.

"I'm afraid that would be out of the question."

"With all due respects, elders, they are the Kazekage's children, representing the power and will of the Yondaime Kazekage, and not only that but the strength and nobility of the past Kazekage's and the Wind Country. Holding his children hostage, will only distress the spirit of the Kazekage, and our own people."

He didn't know if that last part was true, especially when Gaara came into mind, but still his students were almost considered nobility in Suna, and he had to use that as an advantage.

"I am aware that they are considered 'royalty,'" Homaru stated, adding almost a sort of sarcasm to the word, 'royalty.' He took a breath of air, whizzing a bit—due to his ever decaying health that comes of old age—before continuing. "However, as I see it, the Kazekage never took any interest in his children. I've seen the missions they were assigned, and to me, it seems as though he gave them the most difficult missions in his disposal. So I see why the Kazekage's wishes would be any different in death."

They uttered other things, but each word only upset him even more. He felt his hands curl into fist. A sort of anger overfilled Baki, knowing exactly where this was going. Konoha was resorting to keeping them as hostages. Any form of treachery, any sign of displeasure would boast their confidence and remind Suna that they are in control of the lives of the Kazekage's children. He never thought this could ever happen. Suna's best, holding highly reputations and excellent skills, be reduced to this? Relay on the will of the enemy? He would have laughed, if someone told him this was going to happened. But it was happening now, and he didn't think it was funny.

"The negotiations shall be breach if the Kazekage's children are not released… and the council of Sunagakure will consider this as kidnapping, and will act accordingly."

Again he didn't believe any of his words, especially when Gaara came into mind. Knowing the council, they would have agreed completely with keeping them imprisoned. They would try to release Kankurou and Temari, maybe, but as for Gaara, this would be a chance to wipe their hands off a problem that had plagued the village. But that wasn't the point. The point was that he seemed to have shaken the two council members.

Time seemed to have frozen.

Homura stared at him disbelieving, not even daring to believe that a war will be fought over three children. Konaru took the same action as her colleague, however she began to laughed bitterly, earning Baki to glance upon her in bewilderment. She laughed at some unsaid joke, for a few seconds, and then her face returned to its seriousness.

"The fact is your students have escaped from Konoha Strict Correctional Facility."

"All three?" He asked incredulous.

"Yes, they've all escape," Homaru continued seeing the shock on his face. "Two of our guards are dead, and there are many injured, including our ANBU. You have excellent students, Baki. But I'm afraid because of their violent behavior; they shall be taken to custody."

A day had passed since this talk, but still Baki was as shocked as ever. Temari, Kankurou, and Gaara had escaped, and not only that but they had managed to injure members of the ANBU? He knew they had strength, but he certainly didn't think they could have something like this. It must have been Gaara. He thought, but what surprised him a bit, was that all three of them managed to escape. He had almost assumed that it might have been Gaara, who escaped by himself, or Temari and Kankurou that escaped together, but the fact was that they all escaped together.

He didn't even know whether he should feel proud of his students for their increase in strength, or become angry at them for causing all this unnecessary trouble.

The jounin took a turn down the streets, already noticing that most of the buildings were rebuilt, and that the village was slowly coming back to life. He only wished that would be true for his village. Suna was in complete chaos with suspicion written everywhere. People were bewildered that someone could have impersonated the Kazekage, now there was a general fear that any one could be a charlatan. But the greatest commotion was the next successor as Kazekage. Unlike other villages, the title of Kazekage was lineage given to the oldest male, which would explain why the Kazekage ordered extensive training for his two older children.

That meant that _Kankurou_ was to be the Godaime _Kazekage_. He laughed at the idea. Kankurou played too much, and would never take the role seriously, apparently the council thought the same, since they began to look back to the family tree.

Thoughts were put to a stop, as Baki noticed people running to the direction he was going to. That wouldn't have been strange, but the idea was that it was too early in the morning—for Leafs that is—to have people running about the place. Something must have happened, and at once his question was answered.

The street, where he was residing, was littered with curious bystanders, all whispering urgently and pointing to a large broken window. His sharp eyes gazed to the view, noticing glass splattered everywhere… and most importantly in his room. In a flash, he ran into the building, ignoring the shouts behind him urging him to stay, he sprung up the steps, stopping briefly at the reception. A few women were sobbing together, huddled and shaking in fear. To his left a few men talked amongst each other, while a shinobi scribbled something down.

"Hey you!" The shinobi said finally noticing Baki. He yelled something behind him, as he continued to make his way, but Baki didn't listen. Approaching the fourth floor, the Sand jounin hid behind the wall, quickly pulling out a mirror from within his pouch. The reflection of the mirror showed no one in sight, and so he ran full speed toward apartment 9, where he was currently staying at.

Broken pieces of wood, covered the carpeted hall, and he noted that the door had been torn, the doorknob thrown to the side, with the number 9 thrown to the opposite side. He entered warily, noting that a katana must have cut this door, and the size and height of the individual. Inside he saw further evidence to support his theory.

The sofa that had large cuts, and a few tables were complete destroyed. Papers were thrown about the place with a bookshelf tipped over. The window in front of him was broken, and bits of sand sprinkled on the countertops and floor. He saw a body, under the rubble of wood of a table turned over, a blotch of blood trickling down the side of his face. In an instant, Baki dashed toward him.

"What happened?" He asked, voice shaking with anger that someone could have done this to his own kind. They were here on a diplomatic mission, and had no ill intentions at all.

"Leaf wants war, Baki-san," he croaked, finding it too difficult to speak.

"What?" He asked still as confused.

"An assassin…. There's an assassin after you."

---

The wind blew softly, as a certain rustle in the air stirred the air, increasing as the morning sun rose. Gaara stood calmly watching, the sun rise, awaking the earth from its slumber into a fresh day. To an insomniac, time had no meaning; it was merely a unit of measurement. There were even some moments when he diffused days together, since they just seemed so long and tedious. But these last few days he had counted the number of times the sun rose. And today's was three.

It's been three days, since Kankurou left. And for the first time in his life, Gaara wondered what had happened to him. He fiddled for the moment that he might have been dead, captured by Konoha, or else collapsed under the tremendous pressure he put on himself. Gaara had noticed all of Kankurou's wounds, and a sort of fatigue, probably from a lack of food and sleep, over the older boy. Still he didn't think ill of him as before. Seeing his affectionate behavior and action toward Temari made him rethink about the way he looked at Kankurou, and made him realize that bonds could be made even in the most unlikely characters.

Love had never existed in his blood and flesh. Yashumaru had put on a good mask, but in the end he hated him, just like all the others. Kazekage-sama couldn't stand looking at him. And as for Kankurou and Temari, there was always arguing and insults with each other, followed by the terror that crept onto them when they saw Gaara. No one said it, and he could still remember the shock face that appeared on Kankurou's face when he asked him if he loved Temari.

…Until now he believed that, but apparently love _did_ exist within his kin. It was just a shy thing that hid very well, and poked its head out occasionally. But he supposed that words were sometimes not important.

His eyes stared down at the sleeping Temari, the person that was so precious and dear to Kankurou. She hadn't awoken, but at least her fever wasn't as bad as before though the way she kept stirring and muttering random things, gave Gaara the impression that she was fighting a battle within herself. Delicately, he brushed away the yellow bangs that stuck on her forehead, and removed the wet cloth for another one.

She seemed so vulnerable, just now, wet and sick. It made him… it made him think about the fragility of life, and how he had been in Temari's state a few weeks ago. Perhaps, that was the closest he had ever been to death, and he thought considerably about it ever since his encounter with Uzumaki the meaning of his existence.

_Love only yourself, and fight only for yourself. _

Gaara had believed that this was the meaning of his existence. But now… he wasn't even sure anymore. What was the true meaning of his existence? Was he just a tool that could love no one else? No. Uzuamki Naruto was also a tool, and yet he found friends and love. It was possible, was it, for a person to have been feared so much and hated to possibly find love, and be needed by others? These same questions continued to fill his mind for the last weeks. And he was still stuck, still clueless.

He jerked his head suddenly. The sand feeling the footsteps of people walking some distance. He didn't know why, but he found himself running toward those two people, and he knew he shouldn't leave Temari alone, but he just had to see. He reached the branch of an old tree, and gazing down he saw two travelers walking down the dirt road. One was an old man with a long bush of white hair, while the other was a boy dressed in orange and bright blond hair. He walked sluggish, and kept rubbing his eyes.

"Gomen, I don't know why we had to wake up so early."

"Surely, you didn't expect we'd be going on some vacation or something? We need to find Tsunade as soon as possible."

"Yeah I know," he said not bothering to hide back a yawn. It looked as though he suddenly remembered something since he looked at the older man, eyes shining brightly. "Hey Ero-senin, when are you going to teach me that new jutsu?"

The old man sighed, muttering something about annoying brats, but quickly made an excuse that he would teach him in well time. The blond smiled happily, and started off in a prance, becoming much more alert now then he was a few minutes ago.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara said green eyes staring carefully at the boy that taught him so much. "I think I understand…" he said despite the fact that the boy was too busy parading about the place, and not listening to the shouts of his teacher. "I think I… understand… what love is…if only a little. But I will keep trying."

"Huh?" the blond said looking behind him, only to see an empty tree branch.

"What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard my name," he said confusedly.

"Bah, alright we'll stop in the next town if your hearing things! Now hurry up!"

"Hey Ero-senin, wait for me!"

The wind blew, then, scattering green leaves and gold grains of sand.

* * *

--_Mel_


	11. Immature behavior

**Chapter XI: Immature Behavior **

"Uzuki Yugao."

She turned her head sharply at the sound of her name. A tall man stood in front of her, light brown hair spilling on his face, almost covering his eyes. He was dressed in the typical uniform of an ANBU, except for the animal mask, but still the hint of his katana visible behind his back. "Sir," she answered, dropping her work and rising from her seat to her superior. It was a bit unusual to see him here, especially when there was so much work that needed to be done, she could only assume that something grave had settled on the village.

He motioned for her to seat, and sat himself in a chair across from her. Like all the usual ANBU offices, there wasn't much decoration, just a plain white wall with the map of Konoha pasted on to it, and a bulletin, listing future missions, missing-nin, and the regular matter. A small wooden desk was squeezed into the uninteresting room, which was amazingly littered with various documents and a large photograph of the man he remembered as Hayate. This caught his attention as none of the documents had anything to do with her current assignment.

"You seem to have an obsession with this Baki," he stated more than asked. Profiles of Sand shinobi covered her desk, along with circled documents that so much as mentioned his name. She didn't respond because in all honesty it was true. Every shred of information was important in carrying out her revenge.

"As I recall, Ibiki mentioned that you actually tortured one of his students."

Again she kept silent. Since that incident, Ibiki completely banned her from setting a foot in the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, and as much as she argued that they were just prisoners and shouldn't receive any sort of compensation, the decision was firm. It upset her a great deal, considering that those kids were directly related to Baki, and with proper prying she could eventually get the killer's face and possibly location.

"You are behaving unreasonably," the older man said, sighing a bit, and falling back in the uncomfortable chair. "You're not doing Hayate any good; you're only harming yourself."

"Sir, is there a reason why you have come?" If he wasn't her superior, she would have snapped at him. Quite frankly, she was tired of people telling her to forget about Baki, but she knew that she never would be satisfied unless he was rotting in a grave.

"Yes, I want you to take the next two weeks off."

"What?"

"You shall receive pay, but in all respect I want you to forget about this Baki during those two weeks."

"Sir, you can't possibly—"

"And from now on you are locked from receiving any information regarding Sungakure." Anger spoke out as she stood swiftly on her chair, dropping it onto the cement floor, but he stood his ground and glared at her with ferocity. "You have been unreasonable and so I am acting unreasonable. Do you understand Uzuki?"

"Yes, sir."

She normally wouldn't have complained about her unexpected time off. Before she would have spent blissful hours with Hayate, happily enjoying every second with him, but now that he was gone, she only saw a dark, lonely week. With her means of information blocked, finding Baki was going to be even more difficult, but she was still determined.

Out the door and through a corridor, Yugao ignored the few footsteps of her comrades as they made their way to official matters. It was three in the morning, as she tried desperately to grasp as much information concerning Baki. Her taichou made it clear that she wouldn't have any access to Sungakure information, so she took complete advantage of the night. But as much as she searched, she still couldn't find the man's face.

As she approached the foot of the staircase, an almost forgotten figure stepped off the last step, his mind completely buried in files. Seeing the figure, a new realization came to her. She leaped down the stairs, running past moving figures. "Genma!" She called out, causing him to look back.

"Yugao?" Genma answered as she approached them. He stepped back cautiously, the ever so present senbon in his mouth and a frown on his face. Although he was a comrade of Hayate, they weren't exactly on the friendliest terms. In fact the only time she talked to him was to ask about Hayate's whereabouts. She supposed that he found it strange that she would ever approach him. However, he recovered quickly and looked elsewhere, looking nonchalant.

"Genma," she began, not bothering with any useless conversation. "You were the proctor for the Final Exams. You saw all the matches, between the Sand genin and Uchiha just as it was interrupted. You saw the Sand genin retreating, carrying one of their own, but someone issued that order."

"Yugao, what is this about?"

"You fought him, didn't you? You fought Baki," she responded, thirsty for any information; her eyes showed a sort of anxiousness. Genma merely stared at her, fully aware that this woman was seriously distressed and stricken with grief, which caused her to think improperly. That rage, that desire for revenge was slowly edging on her mind and slowly destroying her. "No, I didn't." This would be for her own good. Hayate would have never wanted this, and he was doing this for his favor, for his good memory. It was just better to let go and start anew. "Yugao… you really need to put this aside… move on with your life."

She glared at him. "You don't understand," she muttered bitterly. "Nobody understands!"

"Listen to me, you are becoming obsess—"

"Genma," Aoba called out, approaching him with an even larger stack of files. "The council wants a copy of the proposals for the meeting with Sand."

"Sand?" Yugao asked her eyes growing wide. No one had told her that sand shinobi had returned to Konoha.

"Yes," Aoba continued, seemingly oblivious to the reaction of the woman. "Baki-san arrived to Konoha two days ago. He's the liaison for Sungakure—"

"Baka!" Genma shouted out, wishing his thickheaded comrade would shut up, but the damage had been done. Yugao's face changed so drastically, it looked as though angry dogs had been unleashed. Her back straightened, while her eyes darkened, eyes of a predator getting ready to kill. "Yugao, don't!" Genma began but his shout was thrown on deaf ears as she dashed out of the Hokage's tower into the night sky. Her mind was set, and now that she had that final bit of information she would finally avenge Hayate.

She ran full speed in the cold night, her footsteps echoing softly in the still air. The moonlight threw her silhouette in the alley. Dawn was drawing, and soon enough the sky would be stained in red. How fitting. An excitement was crawling inside her, as she realized that her goal was so close within grasp. The Sand genin had resided in a hotel for the better part of the Chuunin Exam, and it was more than likely that Baki was there once again. Turning the corner, she sped up, adrenalin gushing to her head, heart beating rapidly. The hotel building came into view, large and elegant; the windows emitting soft beam of light in the darken streets. A wicked smiled curled on her concealed face.

The doors opened before her, and she gushed into the pretty room. A polished wooden desk was the first thing in sight, green shrubbery stood on either side, while a small seating area stood to the side with a comfortable armchair and hanging paintings. There was a woman behind the reception desk, looking as though she were about to fall asleep, but as she processed the masked ANBU in front of her she shrieked back in fear, as she saw the katana drawn out in front of her. "W-what's going on?"

"Where is Baki?" Yugao demanded, her tone scaring the woman even more.

"... I-I don't know," she stuttered. Pulling out a large book from within the desk, her hands trembled in fear as she turned page after page. "It's… he…"

"Hurry up!" she called out restlessly, katana gripped tightly in her hands.

"F-fourth floor, Number 9." The words had no sooner came out of her mouth when she flew to the staircase, running with all her might until at last she saw the golden gleam of Number 9. The katana was raised above her head and then brought down swiftly, destroying the wood and spraying it to the air. Two Sand Ambassadors stared in bewilderment, both of them in their mid-thirties, and wearing the traditional white robes of Suna. It looked as though they had been looking over some documents when she erupted in, but their faces transformed into shock follow by anger.

Wood exploded in the air, destroying the blissful morning silence and bringing in curious onlookers, however they fled immediately as they saw the enraged ANBU kicking the splinters of wood aside. The door was beyond shambles with chunks of wood, and the doorknob off to the side. Yugao could care about the distress she was causing on this innocent building, her only thoughts wander to a certain man. Her mask covered the look of pure hatred and loathing on her, and she gripped the katana handle more firmly than usual.

The room was rather elegant, opening up widely to a tall glass window that overlooked the busiest area of the village and a handsome, polished table set to the center. Lamplights were turned on showering the two occupants with light. They were both middle aged man dressed in traditional robes, with streaks of white hair and wide astounded eyes. It looked as though they had been discussing something important, as patched sheets covered the table they sat, each of those sheets bearing the official stamp of Sunagakure.

"Who are you?" one of them demanded, clearly outraged.

"Where is Baki?" Yugao answered with a question in turn. She knew Baki wasn't among these two men, considering that Baki was in his late twenties. They took advantage of the indecisiveness of the woman, and with such velocity, a black kunai came zooming towards her, planting itself deeply in the wall opposite her. Shinobi instincts automatically overtook her. A handful of shuriken were sent flying towards the two men, making it terribly difficult to dodge all at once.

They reacted immediately, overturning the table and allowing the sharp edges of the shuriken to make contact with the wood. Yugao wasted no time, charging like an angry bull, her katana fell down on the overturned table, effectively cutting it in half, though the two men had dashed out, one to the left and the other to the right.

She leapt towards of them like a cat, her arm swinging down, destroying anything that came in her way. Glass, books, tables, all fell one by one on the floor by the heavy movement of people. One of them was rather slow and jagged, keeping a good distance behind her. Yugao frowned behind her mask. She didn't mean to waste her time and chakra fighting these two.

"Hurry, Rasul," he said to his comrade, while dodging the hilt of her blade that just smacked into a chair and broke off its legs. "Send a message to Suna. Tell Yuura-san we are in danger!" The man dashed from the room, leaving the assassin alone with his fellow comrade. The man ran to the other side of the room and within a few minutes there was the cry of a bird being realized outside.

His voice was muffled in her preoccupied mind, with agility she bounced off the corner of the wall and threw her blade quickly, stabbing the man squarely on the chest. His face froze, but then his body weakened until it backed against the wall, still carrying the blade in his torso. Then he began tumbling down, apparently dead. No sort of remorse filled her, after having adapted to this situation repeatedly. In ANBU it was more than essential to get rid of one's emotions and preconceived concepts, in order to rid the feeling of guilt that comes with each day.

But something strange happened then, as she tried to pull out her blade from the body, she found that it was clearly stuck. Tugging on it again, it was almost as though the sword had been planted on a rock, and like her thoughts had been answered, the man dissolved to an ugly blotch of clay. It was a clone, no doubt, and now she found herself without a weapon.

_Thump. Thump._

She jerked her head to the sound, but too late, too late. The enemy stood behind her, so close that she could feel his robes brushing against her own. It would have seemed appropriate if he had pulled out a kunai and set it dangerously to her back, but he did no such thing. He tied her with a wire, a thin sharp wire, bidding her from so much as taking a breath. Ah, so that was it, they had planned to ambush her when the table was overturned. Obviously, the other Sand diplomat knew nothing of combat, and so it was left to his peer to do all the dirty work. They drew away her weapon, and sent her to the corner, but she wouldn't be defeated that easily. She wasn't an ANBU for nothing.

"You're an assassin, aren't you? Is Konoha this unreasonable to throw away all negotiations and bring war?"

The masked ANBU didn't answer, feeling the wire dig deeper and deeper through her clothes, then to her skin, drawing blood out like a knife. He seemed to have taken her silence as a yes, since he muttered something about Leafs not having proper judgment.

With a gasp of air, Yugao threw her head back onto the man's face. Stars raced through her mind, but she willed herself to stay focus, her goal was so close there was no way she'd lose so quickly.

The man yelled out in pain, thrashed in the air, blood seeping from his nose. He made the mistake of clutching his face, thus freeing her from the wires. She thronged around, pulling out a right hook and sending him flying across the room.

_Bump. Bump._

He bounced two times on the floor until he landed roughly beside the overturned table and was completely out.

Yugao panted, rubbing her cut arms and feeling a nasty headache making its way to her skull. Pushing the injuries aside, she turned her attention on freeing her weapon. This was a cheap trick, and she felt completely humiliated by falling to it. It was obvious now that nobody would purposely stay alone with a killer, but apparently her excitement had caused her to make error. She huffed again, ignoring the dull ache in her head, and after much time, struggled the katana free like the sword Excalibur.

She found the other man locked in another room writing urgently, though he turned his head abruptly when he saw the door crashing down. Then, as though it were nothing but some cat walking in, he went back to his letter. An empty bird cage was to his right.

"Where is Baki?" she asked again, her voice sever.

He did not answer, completely absorbed in the letter, his hand shaking so that it made the handwriting almost illegible. He kept muttering something low under his breath, and writing just as fast, making it seem as though there was nothing out of the ordinary that was going on. Rather, if it weren't for his shaking hand, he would have appeared simply as a man writing a letter. She narrowed her eyes; maybe he hadn't heard her. A sharp kunai stabbed him on the hand, crushing his own flesh with the parchment, effectively stopping him from writing anything else. Yugao didn't like to be ignored.

"Where is he?" she declared, her eyes burning in rage.

Again he ignored her, and simply pulled out the kunai from his bloody hand, the message quickly becoming soaked in his blood and a small tear. In the complete calamity of the situation, he muttered something else and continued to write a few more lines. Desperation tore into her. How dare he ignore her! How dare he continue writing his stupid letter, laughing in her face when he perfectly knew the location of Baki!

Springing forward, she brought her katana to full height below him. Maybe if she cut off his arm he would listen to her. The blade was quick and deadly, just about to make contact with the man's flesh until a sharp metal stopped its tracks. Apparently the writer had taken out a few minutes out of his letter to save his arm. His face was drained of all color, eyes widening, and body shaking from fear. "Tell me! Tell me!" she cried out, pushing her blade further in, and pushing his bloody hand back.

"That's enough!" came a voice behind her. She recognized the sound as her superior that she had spoken to last night, where everything seemed so far away and she was still mourning over Hayate's death. There was a rush of footsteps, two of her fellow ANBU on either side of her, each of them holding a weapon in hand. They almost seemed like statues, none of them seeming to move, but all eyes just resting on Yugao and the Sand ambassador.

"Suna was determined to make a peaceful settlement, but I suppose this isn't the case."

"You don't understand…" began the ANBU taichou. "Konoha had…"

The man didn't wait for a respond; instead he took in a deep breath. His chest rising, his lungs filling with oxygen, and then he exhaled.

A string of air flew out from the man's mouth, throwing Yugao on the opposite wall, the three ANBU thrown backwards, tumbling and tumbling until a wall stopped them from moving any farther. It was as though a hurricane had been unleashed: the lamps shook and came trashing to the floor, curtains, blankets, clothes spun madly in the room before falling in heaps on the carpeted floor. Glass mirrors and windows all shattered to pieces, while sand encircled the air as well. She gasped, feeling the hard friction of the sand against her open wounds.

It seemed as though someone was trying to throw a shuriken, but it didn't so much as reach a foot before it landed dumbly on the floor.

The man took another glance at the three masked ANBU, tied the parchment tightly and dashed out of the room, all along clutching his injured hand. Outside, there grew a commotion as a savage sandstorm appeared out of nowhere and sent debris and junk along the street. It did seem odd, considering that was the same room where a wild falcon came flying out. The villagers gasped again as they saw a foreign man emerging from the building, blood dripping in his hand, heading to where the bird flew. And if that wasn't strange enough, an ANBU woman appeared from the room, looking just as savage as the sandstorm. Three ANBU emerged out of the room as well, the taichou looking not the least bit happy.

"Stop that letter at all cost! If Sand gets that letter, negotiations will cease, and Sand will have reason to declare war! After that letter!" he told the two subordinates.

"Yes sir," they saluted before dashing after the man.

He clutched his fist angrily. "I'm getting really tired of this immature behavior."

---

The mule's hooves pitter-pattered along the dirt road, crushing fallen twigs and old leaves. The animal moved slowly for its age, but still its passenger didn't attempt to make him scurry along. He just held the reins lightly in his hands. For a while there was nothing interesting on the road, except the dried dung of horses and the annoying cawing of crows, but beyond that, not one single person had come walking up the path. When the town was far from the eye, and the forest began to grow thicker, the passenger slid off the end of the wagon, and with a pop and a streak of smoke, the cranky old man had transformed into a black clad youth with a bit of his smirk on his face.

It was way too easy getting past those Leaf shinobi, too easy that he played it safe and stayed hidden in his disguise for another three hours. So far it seemed that his performance went well, and they hadn't expected that the cranky old man was actually the teenager they were looking for.

Grabbing Karasu and a few other things he might need for the journey, Kankurou took the cart of the old man he had seen walking down the street. He stopped in front of a bakery - no doubt the one the medic had talked about - and gracefully gave him back his cart, all thanks to Karasu, of course. After snatching three loaves of bread, and putting the old man to sleep, he was off. His little getaway couldn't have worked without the stalling of the medic. He'd have to find her one day and thank her properly for everything she had done for him.

Kankurou squinted at the high sun, noting that it was probably about to be noon. Pulling the reins, he led the mule to the edge of the forest, and tied the reins to the trunk of a tree. Any passerby coming this way would see the wagon, and would take it back to town or keep it for themselves. Either way, Kankurou couldn't care less. No one would think to trace it back to him, considering that their search wasn't made public.

Karasu was taken out from the third sack, and carefully hung on his back. After snatching the paper bag that contained Temari's medicine and anything that could be useful for the trip, he set off. His thoughts wandered once again to Temari, to this whole mission when Baki told him this doomed high-ranking mission.

Like all the other Sand shinobi, he had supposed that this would be an easy mission. There was a terrible stereotype of Leafs, and like everyone else he had come to believe it. Funny, that stereotype was wrong in all levels. But he supposed that the major reason he thought the mission was easy was because Gaara was there. Gaara was invincible. He knew it, Temari knew, hell even Kazekage-sama knew it.

The scratch above everything else told him Gaara was not invincible, and he clearly remember standing on the stands, mouth wide open and eyes glued to the red head as he was being ricochet about the room. Temari lost shortly, and then he lost.

And now all this: being captured, imprisoned, interrogated, escaping, and now Temari barely surviving.

Kankurou sighed. He was never the type to dwell in the past, but this humiliating defeat hurt his pride, Temari's pride and probably all of the surviving Sand shinobi. _But, _he thought, _maybe this is all for the better._ His musing came to a stop, as he realized that the forest had become too quiet. Not even the annoying birds had been chirping.

He fiddled with the strap of Karasu for a moment, before moving softly. The trap he had set up was broken. _Shit._

He ran then, breaking twigs, crunching leaves and footsteps echoing loudly. _Please, don't let anything happen. Please. _

It seemed so long when he finally came to the campsite. But when he approached, his mouth hung and terror quickly filled him. For Temari and Gaara were gone.

Gone without a trace.

"TEMARI! GAARA!" he yelled, his voice echoing back to him. As a shinobi it was stupid for him to be yelling out like this, for making so much noise when he was still in enemy territory. But at the moment he didn't he care. He just wanted to find his siblings.

His eyes scanned the forest floor, looking for footprints, but nothing. Kankurou took a breath. _Don't panic, don't panic. That's the worst thing you could do. I'm sure they're fine. _

Something red caught his attention. He turned to it in an instant. It was a large of blood, and that did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves.

Wild thoughts followed. What if Gaara killed Temari, and then left the area clean? He did have a sort of addiction to blood, and with Temari being vulnerable…. No! No! He told himself he was going to trust Gaara! He wouldn't let old prejudice cloud his judgment.

There were footprints as well, meaning there were other people here. Several kunai lay to the side, and he did his best to recreate the battle. There were two of them… no three… One was hiding above that tree. It looked like they retreated.

Kankurou sighed in relief. Temari and Gaara must have escaped and swiped away their footsteps to avoid detection. Now if only he could find them.

As if to answer his question, he saw something dull and brown, covered by grains of sand. He picked it up. It was the cork Gaara put in his gourd to keep the sand from spilling. The small grains of sand stirred softly as though a wind was blowing. Kankurou watched, eyes following each curve and swirl of the sand…

_Ten miles before the border. _

…it read, and without a second thought he was off.


	12. Appalling Conditions

Special thanks to ritachi for proofreading and beta-ed this chapter as well as the last!

* * *

**Chapter ****XII: Appalling Conditions **

"W-water…" Temari gasped, twisting her head wildly.

She felt rough hands lift up her head and push a canteen to her mouth. Water spilled into her mouth, running down her itchy, dry throat and relieving her tired body. Temari had always believed water was a sort of blessing on earth, partially because of her upbringing in the desert. It was a tricky chemical with strange physical properties and a profound effect on humans. She gulped the water, almost choking on it, but still feeling an ease as though the water itself was drowning the foreign substance on her body.

Coughing a bit, Temari opened her weary teal eyes, finally taking in her surroundings: tall trees scattered around the area making the sky difficult to see with a few of their roots pulled out from the ground, and green leaves falling one by one on the short grass. They were still in Konoha, and judging by the landscape, no where near the desert. With a certain challenge, she managed to sit up and lean against a tree trunk. Her head turned, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was exhausted, she would have screamed out.

"Gaara?"

He didn't say anything, but pulled away the canteen, never once leaving his eyes upon her. She shivered slightly, and it was a wonder whether it was from her illness or from seeing him. A long silence passed between the two before Temari finally spoke up in a low voice.

"H-how long was I asleep?" she asked, turning her head down and staring at the ground instead of him.

"About four days."

Temari didn't say anything else, nor did Gaara. Her pulled-down hair stuck to the back of her neck, while her sweat-ridden clothes hung even more tightly to her body. She felt more uncomfortable than anything, and Gaara's presence was not making it any better. The last conversation with Gaara had been particularly painful, and she just couldn't help but see Shukaku again, howling out in rage and tramping over the village as though it were a toy. She told him a memory so long ago, she doubted ever happened. Honestly, playing jump rope; Gaara, shy, and carrying around a bear? Of course, that never happened.

Shukaku awoke that night, nearly destroyed the entire village, and reshaped their entire lives. That's what was forever stained in her mind: those yellow diamond-shaped eyes, that terrible howl, the ground shaking from the monster's footsteps and the falling buildings, people yelling…dying. Why exactly did she tell him such a stupid lie? Better yet, how could she have thought of such a ridiculous story? Was it because in all aspects, deep within her mind she really did want it to be true? That Gaara would stop behaving like a monster and more like a brother? She shivered, finding it harder to breathe all of a sudden; feeling so small, and pitiful. Her arms unconsciously wrapped around each other. Her thin fingers touched the wet skin and goosebumps and the soft linen bandage wrapped tightly on her upper arm.

"Where's Kankurou?" Temari finally asked, breaking the unbearable silence between the two; she turned her head as if expecting someone to walk in, but the only thing she could see was more trees. He was the only one that could wrap up bandages this tightly (after much practice with Karasu).

"He went to a nearby town to get you proper medication."

"Did he just leave?"

"He left three days ago; he hasn't been back since." His voice was flat, greatly contradicting the pang of worry that filled within Temari in a matter of minutes.

_H-he'll be back. He's probably… just goofing around or something…. _The line sounded lame, even in her head. Sure, Kankurou played around, but he got serious when the right moment came, and this definitely counted as a serious moment. Three days was a long time to be away, and according to their standards, they should have simply left him behind and continued. Her teal eyes looked up at Gaara, half expecting him to start walking away, and saying that they should just leave Kankurou behind. But he sat at the root of the tree, arms folded and just waiting. It was strange to have Gaara quietly waiting. He just wasn't the patient type, and always got things done his way. She wasn't going to say anything, though, because there was no way she would even dream of leaving Kankurou behind.

For three hours they were silent: Gaara sitting quite still while Temari occasionally drifted off to sleep. Any noise that the forest would make, the two of them would jerk their head only to find that it was just a creature making its way through the foliage. Then Temari would look at the ground, carefully avoiding Gaara's eyes. He didn't ask any more about that experience long ago and for that Temari was grateful.

_Thump. _

That was definitely the sound of falling footsteps. "Kankurou," Temari said, snapping from her dreamlike state and sitting up quickly. He was alright, and that was all that mattered. And as soon as she saw him, she was going to beat the crap out of him, for making her worry so much.

Temari stood up, more alert now than she had been a few hours ago. Her legs wobbled a bit, from the lack of energy and misuse for several days. However, no sooner had she taken one step then a string of sand wrapped around her wrist, stopping her from so much as taking a step. Temari turned her head, anxiously to see Gaara's jade eyes narrowing dangerously. "Listen."

It was that look in his eyes that forced her to do something, rather than argue with him. She didn't ask any questions, but slowly brought her head to the ground, left ear touching the itchy grass floor. Closing her eyes she listened.

_Thump. Thump. _

That wasn't Kankurou. As shinobi they had learnt the sound of the other's footsteps, in case of situations like this. The large puppet on Kankurou's back made his footsteps jagged, putting more weight than necessary on the heel before stepping forward, but from the sound of this individual, it sounded like he was dancing on his feet, moving quickly and indefinitely. Temari frowned, coming to realize that this was someone else. _It's not Kankurou_. The fear swelled in her, more accurate than before. What if he really wasn't coming back? Kankurou had been with her for so long that she never thought of the possibility that he would never come back, and that she realized was her biggest fear. No longer intimidated by death threats or being outshone, it was the fear of losing her brother.

Gaara pulled out the cork from the gourd, the sand crawling out in large tentacles, like a snake getting ready to attack. Rushing to her fan, she tried to lift it, and knew already that there was no way she could fight against these two strangers. Her only hope now was that they would move in another direction, because if they didn't change their pace, they would be found.

_Thump. Thump. _

There was a faint hiss, follow by the footsteps drumming as it approached them. The trap, Kankurou had set earlier, set off, and any hope that it was Kankurou was gone in an instant. He'd never fall for his own trap, no matter how well hidden it was.

Temari steady herself on the tree trunk, her heart pacing quickly, body tensed. The wild spirit of fighting was not consuming her like it normally did, where she would yell out in the stands demanding for a challenge. All she wanted now was to never have been given this pathetic mission.

They came quickly. Clouds of shuriken rained down on the two Sand shinobi. Temari opened her fan wildly, blocking off the sharp metal from her own skin, while Gaara stood motionlessly, the sand protecting its master as always. Tentacles of sand squirmed off, like a blind hand crawling through the forest. It raced off swiftly, twisting and turning, avoiding tree after tree until it finally caught sight of its prey. A muffled scream pierced the air, as the sand gripped the man by the ankle, turning him upward and draggling it back to the red head. There was a cry of protest from the man's comrades, but they stood their ground not wanting to harm their own.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked, his voice commanding. The man moved blindly, squirming and struggling in the grip of the sand, though he stopped when he saw his chilling eyes. "T-the coun…cil has or-ordered your ar-r-rest as a… a threat to s-society," he stuttered.

"Threat?" Temari asked, growing with rage. "We're not threatening anyone! We don't mean any harm; we just want to go home!" she spat out at his face, anger forming as a fuel for her weakened state.

It looked as though he wanted to say something back; instead a muffled yell escaped his mouth. He howled in pain, feeling the rough of grain gripping tighter and tighter around his ankle. Temari looked back at Gaara, watching as a certain crazed look crossed his passive face, eyes widening, and lips changing to a sneer. Temari stepped back; rarely was that lust for blood so clear in his eyes. She was in more danger being around him than of these Leaf shinobi.

"Please! Please stop!" the man yelled out, sobbing as the sand slowly started to shed his skin into pieces, snapping the bone. It had been so long seeing blood, the sand's contact with any flesh immediately tried to tear the organ apart, just to see a drop of that sweet nectar. A thrill pounded in his head, the voices chanting out to tear it apart (_see how much blood there is inside!_). The sand wrapped itself around the delectable skin, covering the man's entire body, his shouts and pleas falling on deaf ears. There was rushing and scurrying in the background - no doubt comrades were trying to save their comrade's life. One threw several kunai at him, but the sand blocked it at the last minute. He was in his own world, the killing stirring the chaos within him and making him feel alive once more.

"Gaara, don't!"

He turned his head at Temari, his hazy eyes seeing the terrified look on her face. (_Just one killing wouldn't hurt, one killing wouldn't hurt._)

Right there! Above her! Someone hid well into the leaves, aiming precisely for the back of Temari's head.

"_Take care of her."_

"_I'll give you my word that no harm shall befall on Temari." _

"_I'll definitely protect them till the end!" _

He snapped out at once, Uzumaki Naruto's voice still ringing in his head, more effective than ice-cold water thrown at him. He outstretched his hand, pale fingers opening widely in front of him. Temari's eyes widen, reasoning that Gaara was after her. Instead the sand flew behind her collecting in a wall, shielding her from an untimely death. "If you do not want his limps torn, then I suggest you to leave!"

He threw the man in front of the other's feet, leg severally broken, but still breathing. The other picked him carefully, and the one hidden in the tree fell right next to him. They examined their wounded comrade, and turned to view the smaller boy. "Teams are being dispatched with the sole purpose of finding you. Do not think you will get very far."

In a swift movement, they were gone, racing back to their village to announce their newly found information. It was several minutes that Temari and Gaara just stood there watching the three shinobi retreat. Temari kept glancing at Gaara, surprised in every possible way of what had just occurred. Gaara had just saved her life. Her life. He never cared about his siblings. He was always self-centered but for once he put his desires aside and thought of someone else.

What had happened while she was asleep?

"Can you walk?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I think so," Temari mumbled, nearly gasping out loud. Gaara stood, calmly waiting on her to gather any belongings. He looked off in the distance as though expecting someone, but after Temari stood beside him, he started walking slowly, almost hesitant. Protecting someone was a lot harder than he expected.

----

Yugao bit the inside of her cheek, quickly tasting the dull metallic flavor of blood. Things had definitely gone the way she had planned, and now that she had a chance of rethinking everything, Yugao realized that a lot of things could have been done wrong. But what's done is done, and she could only hope the damage wasn't too much. She leapt from building to building, keeping a hawk eye view for the Sand Ambassador that got away, but in all astonishment he was completely out of sight. She turned a corner, and walked slowly down an alley for a detour to the front gates. Despite the mask covering her face, she could still feel a draft of the over flown dumpster to the side, and the meowing of stray cats seeking a place to hide.

The taichou was no less upset about all this, but at the moment she really didn't care. Her life seemed broken now, distorted and lonely with nothing to look towards but her single goal. She knew that her life could not be brought back to normal unless she killed this man. Her eyes darted to the left, more like feeling something rather than hearing it. Instincts screamed, repeatedly telling her something was wrong. Throwing herself against the wall, she ducked just in time as a swooshing shuriken flew away.

Standing in the alley was the same man she had seen on the bridge a few days ago. A white drapery hung on the right side of his face, skin battered from too much sun and wind. He approached her, not showing an ounce of fear for having attacked an ANBU. His eyes narrowed, hand gripping tightly on a black kunai.

"Are you the one who attacked two men just for the whereabouts of Baki?"

"What of it?" She asked not caring. "Do you know where Baki is?"

"Yes," he said the edge of his mouth curling into a small smile. "I am Baki."

There was a long unsettling silence between the two shinobi. "You cannot be Baki!" she cried out, her voice piercing the still air and echoing down the narrow alley. There was no way that he could be Baki. No individual would willingly approach their enemy like this. It must be a trap of some sort - that was the only explanation.

"I am," he said most seriously. "And I have heard the terrible things you have done - attacking two harmless men and torturing my students. For that you shall pay."

He charged forward, the kunai that was on his hand cutting the air where she had been moments before. She ducked low and pulled her katana from her sheath, attempting to hit his chin with the handle of her blade, but he moved just in time, so she merely waved the blade into the air. She charged at him, then, throwing off the sharp shuriken that came flying her way, and pressed her blade so roughly on the ground where he stood that a crack formed on the concrete pavement.

Adrenaline rushed to her head. The feel and excitement of a kill gripped her, making her forget her current surroundings, forgetting the cuts and scraps on her body from her encounter with the Sand Ambassadors. All that was important now involved destroying this man, making him feel the same suffering she harbored in her heart. Her katana flew wildly, scraping the walls. She growled. There wasn't enough room around here, and like her thoughts have been read, Baki jumped high on the wall, placing the weight of his heel on the wall and springing himself upwards on the wall. She ran just as fast, and landed just as roughly on the rooftop.

But then another blade came toward her, barely missing shoulder and momentously sending her off balance. Her body came forward, painfully touching the floor, she rolled over at once just in time to avoid another deadly blow.

"What is it that catches your interest of me? I know you are acting independently - no one has sent you out to assassinate me - but my question remains why! You are a skilled ANBU warrior; surely you cannot have sentiments involving the ambushed!"

"Because you killed him!" she cried, rising quickly and charging with her blade in front. "You killed Hayate!"

Baki dodged the blow expertly. The name sounded so familiar, and then it hit him. He was that spy that had overheard his plans with Kabuto, and because of his information and to show their loyalty, Baki had killed him without a second thought. Ironically, it was not Sand who needed to prove their loyalty.

"He was very skilled and so young to have learned something as complicated as _Mikazuki no Mai_," Baki mused, watching her pant from swinging her weapon so roughly. Her body tensed, hearing him speak about her formal lover. The wind blew suddenly, sending her hair fluttering about, but her eyes still bore at his face, growing to loathe this man with every passing minute, hating all the words that were coming out of his mouth, and wishing more than anything to see blood gush out of his body as he would lie dying. There was no doubt in her mind that this man was Baki, and now she could only fight her hardest to properly avenge Hayate.

She leapt again, ignoring the decreasing amount of energy in her body. Every swing she threw at him, she threw a gush of her chakra out, not fully thinking that she needed to conserve energy. Now if he could only stand still!

Baki bounced once again, feeling the heavy draft around him. The poor girl, she didn't even realize that he was just stalling in order to make the winds grow rapidly, and with the way she kept swinging her blade, she was losing more chakra than necessary. This Yugao, she was probably a skilled fighter, if she could think properly. Forcing some distance between her, he put his hands together.

_Kaze no Yaiba!_

A strange thing happened, then, breathtaking and just as chilling. Gushes and gushes of wind pored in, the clouds above racing quickly and random objects flying in the air. Amazingly, it seemed as thought that gush of wind was all flying towards Baki's hands, carefully molding itself with such delicacy. A sharp glow formed on the base of his palms forming a handle, no doubt chakra, controlling the wind into the shape of a sword. Yugao didn't know whether she could see the sword or not - it was confusing her senses. There was a handle, yes, but there was no solid metal, rather an outline of chakra and wind.

But her moment of wonder ended just as quickly, for he didn't need to cause damage by striking her, the wind itself cut her skin, making the cuts she had received earlier small and pathetic. He lifted his sword, and brought it down where she stood, and although she got out of the way, the wind shoved her backward. She rose from the floor, feeling blood flow out from the deep cut.

Picking up her katana, she charged forward. It didn't matter what happed to her, all that matter now was her revenge. She felt another painful cut on her back, going past armor and clothes until it hit skin. Her violet hair was beginning to get sliced by the wind, but she paid no attention to it. Baki dodged with such ease, she would have never expected him to be this powerful. He brought the sword across her face, snagging a large piece of her hair and the strap of the ANBU mask she wore.

Yugao ran just in time, but the mask had fallen off her face. Her eyes darted to the mask, thrown away in the corner of the building, but realized that was a mistake. Baki appeared so suddenly in front of her that she had barely enough time to draw her katana, and the full blown touch of Baki's wind sword clearly cut the blade in half. The winds furious speed threw her tumbling to the roof, almost to the edge of the building. Her head banged roughly on the roof, and threw her into a cloud of darkness. So this was how things ended up.

"That's it. You're done," Baki said, standing above her. Torn, broken, and lonely was how she was left.

----

"If it is not too much trouble, the council would like to speak with you Baki-san," a Leaf shinobi spoke, standing by the doorway.

"I would like to speak to them as well," Baki answered, standing up from reading several medical reports on the condition of his two comrades. There was nothing too serious as far as he could see. He stood up from the desk, put the reports aside and followed the shinobi outside to the marble hallway. It was late in the afternoon, and after the entire scenario in the morning, Baki was placed under protective custody in the Hokage's Tower. He didn't think it was necessary, but thought that refusing would give Konoha a bad impression, as though he was still suspicious (which was true anyway).

After he arrived in the hotel, a Leaf shinobi came suddenly informing him on the situation and the woman that desperately wanted to kill him. He told her she was not in her right mind; that she had no association with the council and for his safety he should make his way to the Hokage's Tower. A medic arrived shortly after, attending to the injured Sand-nin, and another status report arrived stating the ANBU had managed to 'locate' the wandering Sand-nin. Konoha was doing their best to cover everything from Suna, and he really didn't blame them. If Suna's council caught word of an attempt assassination on their official liaison, then things would definitely turned ugly, not because of an attempted murder, rather a humiliation that Konoha didn't think much of their offer for peace. Using the death of their liaison, Suna had good reason to declare war against Konoha and gather up a few allies.

Baki was going to place the entire matter aside. He knew perfectly well how revenge sickened the mind, causing the individual to carelessly toss important things aside. That is until the young shinobi let slip that this Yugao had tortured Kankurou for the sake of finding information about him, he just couldn't place the matter aside. He ran wildly out of the building, ignoring the protest of the Leaf-nin, completely disturbed that someone would have hurt one of his students. Baki never denied that he was more than tough on Temari and Kankurou, but he just couldn't stand that they were lost and wounded. And it was stupid he knew, but he cared too much about those damn kids to let anyone get away with harming them. This woman, she didn't know what she was getting herself into. Kazekage-sama wouldn't have picked any person to become the sensei of his children, although he ignored them since their birth. He had chosen Baki because of his amazing skills of being taichou in Sand's ANBU, though he had been demoted after a terrible incident. Really it was more amazing that he was alive for his reckless behavior in the past.

The walk was silent between the two men, until there was a muffled confusion in the background, angry shouts, screaming and people yelling out for reinforcement. The shinobi stood in front of Baki, apparently recognizing that there must be some danger involved in here. "Follow m—"

Words were cut off, as he pushed the Sand-nin aside, avoiding a sailing kunai that landed in a thud on the wall beside him. The force of the young shinobi was so much that he fell completely to the floor, sliding a few feet. His turban fell and scattered to the opposite side. In an instant he covered his face though the shinobi stood in front of him, trying to deal with the menace.

"You shall not get away Baki! I swore I will kill you!"

Yugao stood behind him, dressed in her battered ANBU clothes, cuts and bruises all over her body, and hair cut awkwardly. Her eyes were full of so much hate, so much spite. "This is Sand's liaison, Yugao," the Leaf-nin yelled out, appearing to reason. "He is our ally. You can't kill him!"

Her eyes still bore danger. Baki stood up from the floor, and pushed the Leaf-nin aside, ignoring his protests. "Is your mind so clouded that you cannot think to those around you?"

"Shut up! You don't understand!"

He removed the hand that was covering his face, exposing it for the first time to a complete stranger. Ever since that day, no one saw his face, and no one asked. Temari and Kankurou had always set traps to see behind the drapery on the right side of the face, but he was too quick and usually figured out what they were getting at. "I understand perfectly well." Her mouth opened as she stared at his complete face. His head was shaved with strange writings and unusual small dents. It was torn, scarred and burnt with a closed eye sewed down tightly on his eyelid and misshaped nose. Half his ear was missing and a long scar traced his jaw. She had never seen anything so hideous; Ibiki's scars were nothing compared to this.

It was a well kept secret that no one but the Yondaime Kazekage knew, and quite frankly he didn't like to share it with anyone. But that was all in the past and he hated to reminisce. Right now he needed to look toward the future considering that he had the responsibility of setting things right between the two villages. He hid his face quickly, more ashamed of his past actions than the horrible marks. Strong pair of arms wrapped around Yugao arms, but she didn't resist.

"Please forgive us, Baki-san," an ANBU said pushing Yugao away though she continued to stare. Baki stood solemnly, watching her, his face blank, but his eyes showing almost a bit of interest… or was it pity?

"Think nothing of it," Baki answered looking away, though he didn't make it clear whether he was talking to the ANBU or Yugao. He picked up the turban and placed it over his head, carefully covering his face from anyone else. The ANBU walked away holding Yugao firmly though she did not resist, instead she kept looking over to him until she could do no more. It was several minutes before the Leaf-nin apologized himself and continued to lead him to the conference room. They found an ANBU whispered something to Homura and Koharu, but after they caught sight of him, the ANBU, as well as the Leaf-nin, excused themselves, leaving the leaders alone.

Homura walked up to him, about to say something, but Baki held his hand.

"This had been the third attempt that this woman had attempted to take my life. If I take this up to Suna's council, they will have more than enough reason to breach all negotiations. I am aware that you stopped the emergency distress signal that Rasul sent out."

They did not answer because it was true. After the Sand ambassador ran away, teams were dispatched to kill whatever bird they saw in the sky. In the end, Suna never received the letter, but that didn't mean the incident was forgotten.

"Baki-san you must—"

"No, I don't understand. I don't understand how you could let a woman who is clearly unstable roam around freely."

There was a silence between the leaders, half expecting the Sand-nin to scowl at them and declare haughtily that he was going to tell everything to the council. And they couldn't do anything because any harm on him would upset things in Suna. "I shall not report the matter."

The two elders looked up at him, incredulous.

"The condition being that you erase all charges on my students. Erase all charges and let them come home."

* * *


	13. Lurking in the Night

**

* * *

****Chapter XIII: Lurking in the Night **

The sound of a hawk's screech ran throughout the clear, indigo sky. Large brown wings spread into an arch, gliding expertly on the blowing winds. Its acute eyes scanned the landscape, drawing away trees and bushes to gaze down at a simple movement of leaves. A squirrel scurried along, picking up a few seeds, here and there, before realizing its danger and then darting to the left, scared of being found.

But the hawk did not stick to its usual predatorily nature, instead it turned left and continued on the look out for something, rather someone.

Again it made another circle before flapping its wings and flying away in the distance, the wind carrying away its high pitch screech.

The squirrel crept out of its hiding, finally aware that the danger had passed, for now that is.

In the middle of the thick forest, high up on a tree, concealed by leaves and branches, Temari exhaled a breath in relief. Konoha was searching for them, no doubt angry and intent on punishing them for the mess they had caused. This was the third time that bird circled the sky with its head suspiciously trailing down to their location.

It was certainly a matter of time before they were found.

She looked to her side, catching Gaara's eyes for a moment, before quickly looking away. They still hadn't talked to each, not since that brief ambush about three hours ago. She had wanted to ask him, why he had saved her, but the words just seemed to get stuck in her throat, and so she kept quiet instead.

"We have to move," Gaara said, still not looking at her. He jumped from the tree branch, landing perfectly on the shadowy ground. He took a step forward, but having realized that Temari was not beside him, he looked up expecting her to follow.

Temari gulped, the years of following her youngest brother's orders simply because of fear, still evident. Leaping down from the tree, her feet fell underneath her, and she landed rather embarrassing on the ground, not with her usual grace.

"Can you walk?"

Pathetic that's how the situation was turning out, even more pathetic by the minute as her health didn't seem to be improving and they were forced to hide from a measly bird.

"Yes," she said, though she felt her legs wobbly as she stood. He probably saw past her fib, but didn't mention anything. "Let's go," he said taking a step, but stopped as he realized that Temari still was not following him.

"Gaara, please," she said in a voice awfully small that sounded nothing like the proud kunoichi she'd always been. "Just… a little bit more time," she said not able to stop a cough from stifling out of her mouth. Sunlight was scattering, not necessarily making it dark, but not bright either. Within another two hours the sun would finally sink across the horizon and bring another day to an end. And still no sight of Kankurou. He had left roughly four days ago, and if he wasn't looking for medication he still would have been here with her.

"They'll find us again," he said turning around, hiding the rest of his sentence… _and I don't know if I'll be able to keep you safe_. _I don't know if I can keep this promise or fall into the chaos within me. _

He received a tug on his wrist, something no one had ever dared to do. Sand started to hiss angrily at the contact, wanting to attack the intruder who dared touch him, but when he turned around the sand became silent. Temari stared at him with pleading eyes, eyes that showed a great pain for leaving a brother behind.

Temari has always prided herself in being rational, ignoring those silly girly emotions and sticking straight to protocol, but then again nothing like this had ever happened. In any other circumstances—if her brother was not out there wandering alone in a dangerous country—she would have left the idiot out there because there just wasn't no use or logic in waiting for someone that was not going to come.

"Please Gaara?" For the first time, Gaara noticed they had the same colored eyes, except hers were a darker shade than his. _We have the same eyes as Mother. _

"One hour," he said, turning his back to her.

"Thank you."

She wasn't looking too good, Gaara thought watching her pale face by the corner of her eye. It was so different seeing Temari, the proud, tough kunoichi so sickly and weak and being forced to beg. She wasn't that kunoichi that enjoyed a challenge and excelled in everything. Her hard shell had fallen off and she seemed so lost.

Temari looked a lot like Mother, Gaara thought but left it at that remembering discreetly that Mother had never cared for anyone.

"Temari," he spoke. "He's not here."

She continued staring out at the horizon, waiting for a person that just won't come.

"Temari."

She looked up at him, her face so pale and sickly that it definitely wasn't the Temari he had gone on missions with. "Alright," she said at last, putting the iron fan across her back, and trying to rise from the floor, but then stopped as she felt cold hands holding her up. An arm wrapped around her, sand tickling her own skin, steadying her weight and making it much easier for her to travel.

Gaara said nothing, but took a leap to the nearest branch and carried them both away from the site.

"He'll be back."

And somehow that was all the comfort she needed.

* * *

"_Hurry up Kankurou!" Temari stopped beside him, waiting for her eight-year-old brother to catch up. _

"_You're one to talk considering that you can't even lift up your fan." Kankurou countered, pausing once again and shifting the heavy bundle on his back. _

_The walk back to Baki's house had been a lot longer than usual, considering that Kankurou's small body still couldn't withhold the enormous size and weight of Karasu. She offered to help him carry it, but he clearly refused, yelling something along the lines that 'Master Sasori would be completely insulted if his successor couldn't even carry his puppet!' And so she left him at that, but still he was taking an awful amount of time._

"_Yes I can!" she cried out dignified. _

_Kankurou snorted. "You fell flat on your face." _

"_I told you I tripped!" Temari yelled, looking away to hid the embarrassment in her face. _

"_Sure you did." _

"_I did! Besides my fan is much heavier than your ugly, old doll." _

"_Karasu is not a doll! He's a puppet, Temari! A puppet made by the great Master Sasori, only you're too stupid to realize that." _

"_Don't call me stupid! _

"_With all your bickering, you'll wake up the entire village." _

_They didn't need to turn around to recognize the owner of the voice. Their bickering must have been too loud that they didn't even hear the footsteps behind them. Both of them gulped, expecting punishment for sneaking out and having skipped an entire day of training. Their sensei towered over both of them, arms across his chest and a deep scowl on his face. He was wearing his traveling cloak. _

_For a minute, no one spoke a word as the wind continued to howl and throw gust of sand. _

_Baki sighed, turning his back on both of them. "Hurry up and come inside, you'll catch a cold." Both of them looked at him, surprised for a moment. "There's training tomorrow, and I don't want to hear any excuses," he quickly added._

Baki briefly awoke from his thoughts, realizing that darkness was settling over Konoha. The elders had cancelled his meeting with no explanations whatsoever, but strange rumors had been circulating about strange intruders that had seriously wounded the infamous Copy-nin.

In one of those rare chances, he had an evening to himself, and instead of doing something productive he was busy reminiscent, something that he just hated doing.

They had been missing for the entire day, he remembered. At first he had furious, but then as the hours passed by and there still wasn't any sign of them, a sort of anxiety hit him. Despite himself, Baki had gone searching for them. They probably could take care of themselves, considering that they were advancing at a remarkable rate, but still there was that feeling. He tried to tell himself that Kazekage-sama would be enraged if he lost his children, but then again the Kazekage hadn't so much as paid a visit to them since they arrived almost two years ago. The Kazekage did not care for his children, rather he cared for the shinobi that his children were to become; and if his children could not survive training then certainly they could not survive a real shinobi's life.

The bitter desert winds had blown away their tracks and that feeling resurfaced again, where he couldn't help but wonder about their safety.

But then they had returned, and just by seeing them, a relief had spread over him. He didn't yell, didn't ask where they had gone, didn't punish them for skipping training, somehow just seeing them in one piece had satisfied him.

He sighed, before standing beside the mirror and carefully taking off the cloth draped around his face and looked at his ruined face. He still remembered the acid falling from the sky, touching his skin, burning it so slowly before sinking into the tissue. And he cried out in pain, touching his face, feeling his skin and eye fluid dissolve onto his hands, seeing an odd shaped object on the floor, before realizing that that was a piece of his ear. He remembered begging for water, but in the desert where you are responsible for the death of two squads under you, and water was such a sacred thing, no one cared.

The Kazekage let him yell out in pain, reasoning that this was his punishment for seeking a life of vengeance. Reasoning that if he had only been rational and alert, then there would be eight people standing right beside him. "Let this be a reminder of your foolishness," he said before turning away and leaving him to his misery. And Baki looked at him through bleeding eyes, and realized his fault.

Yashamaru had healed his wounds, only because the Kazekage had allowed so.

In all truths he didn't want to Temari nor Kankurou to see his face, not because of the deformity, but because he would have to explain to them his carelessness and what it had cost the village. He was ashamed and afraid that if they found out they would think less of him like everyone else. He had acted not for Suna, but for his own selfish desires. Suna had gain nothing and lost much more.

A knock interrupted Baki's thoughts, rather memories, and he quickly hid his face, muttering an 'Enter' once he was sure his face was hidden from view.

It was one of Suna's ambassadors, the one Yugao had lost patience with after he refused to answer her questions and had been stabbed in the hand as a result. He continued to clutch his bandaged hand, but there was still an angry scowl that had appeared on his wrinkled face.

"The meetings been cancelled—"

"Excuse me Baki-san," he began "But I have just learned that Suna did not receive the distress signal I sent out."

"That is correct."

"And what's more I've learned that you have decided to not report this to the council."

Baki stood silent, carefully picking his words. "This was not an assassination attempt, rather a misguided grudge. There should be no reason why this interferes with the negotiations and I see no reason to report this to the council."

"Yes, I suppose that's the story Konoha's using to cover up this entire scenario. They were clearly trying to move the negotiations towards their favor." He leaned close to him, his face seriously darken. "Can't you see what this is leading to?" he whispered. "Konoha will have a kunai behind their back as they call us allies!"

This old man still lived in the old customs of Suna: still valued for the greater good, despite the consequences. Right now it seemed a waste to be throwing away the opportunity that Konoha had foolishly set for them. Suna had a reason to declare war, gather a few allies and possibly defeat this weaken Konoha, and prove to the Wind Daimyo once in for all that Konoha was not as powerful as it seemed.

Again he continued to examine Baki, and his face darkened as if questioning his motives. "From what I hear, you personally made a bargain with Konoha's elders to have your team set free."

"Rasul," he finally answered. "They are the Kazekage's Children, and without a proper heir Suna may go into civil wars."

"Then let Kankurou-san free, or perhaps Temari-san, but why all three of them? Why have Gaara return to Suna when we could be free of him once in for all?"

To be honest, he didn't know.

"What has Suna to gain from this? Nothing, but it has so much more to lose. You're putting Suna in risk with this reckless behavior!"

"I am acting for the best interest of Suna," he said unable to stop the rise in his voice.

"You're acting for the best of your students! They are just your _students_ not your children, your students. If Konoha wants them imprisoned, then so be it! We must protect the village from danger at all cost. Baki-san, you are perfectly aware of our customs. A teacher must never have any sort of emotional attachment to his students because eventually the path between them will change. The news that they are being tracked down shouldn't matter at all to you! Don't let this cost the village."

"I am," Baki said speaking with such force that it let no room for any more arguments, "and I will always act on what is best for Suna."

* * *

Grasshoppers chirped off in the distance, as stars slowly took their place in the night sky. Branches from the tall trees shook momentarily, before Gaara stepped down onto the ground, glancing throughout the area for any possible danger. "We'll stop here."

Temari nodded, easing herself from Gaara's hold and sitting against a tree. Gaara studied her for a moment, but said nothing, instead disappearing into the thick forest. He returned later with a small pile of wood, and silently began to set a fire.

_Thump. Thump. _

Temari sat up, fully alert with the possibility that this could be Kankurou. She'd yell at him for making her worry; and he'd laugh and worm his way out; and then they'd come home to Suna and forget that all this happen.

Gaara stood up, green eyes staring off in the distance of the footsteps.

_Cling! Cling! _

Bells? What were bells doing out here? She pressed her ear onto the ground, listening and calculating the range of these newcomers.

"There are two of them, less than a mile away coming from the west."

She listened harder. "I think they're just passing by."

Gaara continued staring off, his eyes narrowing. "Be on guard."

Temari looked at him questioning. They were probably just civilians, coming from Konoha, if they were making so much noise and walking leisure throughout the darken forest. There seemed to be no dangers, unless these civilians went off snitching to the authorities. But Gaara stood so rigidly, and the sand began to hiss. It seemed as though Gaara could sense something was wrong. "Should we move, then?"

"No, they already know we're here."

The way he said it. The way his body seemed so tense, the way the sand slowly crawled out from the open gourd, ready to attack. It suddenly became difficult to speak, to think, to breathe. Something was wrong, these weren't simple civilians, but something much more dangerous.

Something was looming overhead, and it scared her, not the usual trepidation when she didn't know the whereabouts of the enemy. This was a different type of fear that spread throughout her bones, like a sort of darkness that was gripping her neck and slowly squeezing it.

Cold sweat gathered on her brow, and she couldn't stop the frantic beating of her heart and the trembling in her body.

And then it all hit her, like a splash of cold water.

They weren't going home.

_Cl-ing. _

The sound of bells jingling continued into the quiet night air. And then, there was a deep crunch of a twig breaking and a scurry of leaves. She gulped, watching the darken shadows and awaiting the face of the enemy. Time seemed to pass so painfully slow, and she briefly thought about home and Kankurou and Baki-sensei, anything to stop this suffocating feeling around her.

_Cl-ing. _

The pale moonlight provided enough lighting for the two strangers.

And for a moment both parties merely stared at one another. They didn't look intimidating, rather odd looking. She couldn't see their faces, straw-covered hats prevented so much as their eyes from standing out, but she noticed a small bell hanging from the front—no doubt what caused the jingling. They were both dressed the same—red clouds pattered throughout a heavy, black cloak—except that the larger of the two was clutching an enormous sword wrapped in bandages.

"Good evening," one of them spoke, his voice showing that he was probably a few years older than them.

"Good… evening," Temari answered, feeling her heartbeat increasing. There was something about this man that screamed out danger.

She looked towards Gaara, awaiting some signal, to retreat or attack, but instead his eyes were completely fixed on the younger of the two. It seemed that the stranger had an interest in him: as he continued to… almost examine him behind his straw hat.

For a long minute, the young man stared at Gaara, his posture showing that he was rather calm, despite his deadly glare and hissing sand.

"If you'll excuse us," he spoke.

And just like that they passed through them and made their way through the dark forest.

As the two strange pair continued walking through the forest, leaving the two sand shinobi behind, they received a strange buzzing—like a telepathy message of some sort—and they sat down on the dirt floor, closing their eyes in some strange meditative state. It was from their leader, requesting a mission report and something along the lines of a Sealing Statue. When the message was done, the older of the two became flustered. "We shouldn't have retreat," he concluded. "Leader hates it when missions aren't complete."

"Leader will forgive our failure," the younger one spoke, still in that calmed and eased state, a complete opposite to his partner. "When we inform him the whereabouts of the Ichibi Shukaku."

"The Ichibi?" he said staring at him dead serious. "You sure? I mean rumor has it."

"You shouldn't believe rumors—after all rumors are nothing more than an ill attempt at keeping a secret.

"It was said that the Kazekage took the Ichibi bijuu from its imprisonment and sealed it onto his unborn son. This experiment had been tried three times before in Suna and all have been disastrous, but it appeared that this experiment was meeting proper expectations. However, seven years ago, Shukaku became free from its host caused a collapsible amount of damage. There are no explanations how the Ichibi became free, but the Kazekage managed to reseal the demon within its host again."

He sat down on the edge of a rock, listening to the flow of the river splashing against the banks. He took of his straw hat, revealing a face too old and tired for his body. He appeared to be in some sort of pain, but he ignored it, continuing with the story. "There were many casualties and damages to the village that the experiment was declared unstable and promptly ceased," he said it with such tranquility that it was oddly petrifying. "The bijuu was said to be resealed in its teakettle and hidden within the deepest parts of Wind Country."

"And you thing that boy is its vessel?"

"I believe so. Those dark rings around his eyes, his short stature, and his irritability: they are the signs of a lifetime of insomnia. The sand that seemed to move of its own occurred and that feeling of chakra, yes that was definitely the Ichibi's container."

His partner let out a roar of laughter, shrugging the enormous sword off his back. "Well it must be our lucky day. The Kyuubi gets away, but the Ichibi walks up to us." He grinned, his sharp teeth making his look predatorily, like a shark set on attacking.

"No."

The look was gone, and he stared incredulously at his partner. "But—"

"We shall report this to Leader," he said rising from the rock and stepping onto a green leaf. "The Leader will do accordingly, but our target is the Kyuubi."

"If you say so," the other sighed, but followed after his partner. They continued their journey throughout the night, and if border patrol dared stopped them, it was merely a look that sent their bodies limp on the floor.

* * *

"Who were they?" Temari finally asked, noticing that Gaara was still staring were they had disappeared to.

"I don't know," Gaara responded. Temari watched as the sand entered the gourd, filling to the brim, but the cork was missing, so the sand spilled slightly as Gaara moved. He continued setting the fire, still not speaking to Temari until it was nearly midnight. "I'll keep watch."

She looked at him.

"I'll keep watch," he repeated this time more assertive. Even though Gaara suffered from insomnia, he never kept watch and it was usually up to her or Kankurou to stay up late into the night.

"Right," she answered, setting her head against the trunk of a tree, but still she could not fall asleep. That momentary anxiety had left her, and now she was wondered desperately about the whereabouts of her brother.

"He'll be back," Gaara spoke into the night air.

"Yeah, he will," she agreed. Her eye lids became heavy, and she slowly drifted to sleep.

It was roughly three in the morning when she was jerked awake. Immediately her hand went to her fan, but then stopped midway. Her eyes widen for a brief second, but then she smiled, softly patting his back, thoughts of yelling at him gone at the moment. Gaara watched them for a moment, before leaping off into a tree branch, once again realizing that he didn't belong. He could never truly understand them, but that was alright because he was learning. Naruto had taught him a new world and he was slowly learning about it. He placed the recovered cork within the opening of his gourd.

Kankurou buried his head into Temari's shoulder and, Gaara noted, his entire body began to shake, in an almost lachrymal matter.

* * *


	14. Accomplished Feats

* * *

**Chapter XIII: Accomplished Feats  
**

"Idiot! I swear if you do something like that again, I'll kill you!"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Don't leave without getting permission," Kankurou said sarcastically, reapplying her bandages. She was certainly doing much better than before, Kankurou noticed, a brief relief settling over him. "Here," he said pulling out the small glass bottle from within the paper bag. It was a deep violet, thick like syrup, and with that terrible after taste doctors seems so fond of making.

"Ugh," Temari said making a face, after drinking a quarter of the bottle.

"Sorry, they were all out of the cherry flavor," Kankurou smirked, handing her two rolls of bread that he managed to steal back in the town. She took a bite into it, savoring the buttery taste, but then asked him whether he had eaten anything himself. Yeah, he replied keeping himself busy with applying new bandages, and carefully avoiding her eyes, but he said something else to throw away any worries.

High upon a tree branch, Gaara silently watched the interaction between the two.

He thought he liked it better when they were like this, when all shinobi rules were put aside and danger wasn't lurking behind a corner. Smiles came more natural, he noted, and eyes shone a bit more now that it was clear the other wasn't dead. They spoke easily to one another, laughed, and occasionally swatted each other, but for a good hour all they did was talk. Talk and talk, about Kankurou's whereabouts and his close encounter with the Leaf-nin, about the short attack while he was away, about leaving the campsite without evidence and finding a new one instead. And then lastly, they talked about him.

_Don't you want to see how red it is?_

Gaara shifted, aware that that voice was speaking to him again. He jumped onto another branch, realizing that this voice in his head was what alienated him.

He was just a stranger, a stranger that happened to share the same blood as them. And because he was that stranger; because of Shukaku; because of that night so long ago that Temari shook whenever she saw him and Kankurou stuttered a bit, and Baki looked away; because of that mysterious night that he was still too young to remember, but saw ruin buildings and so many lifeless bodies sprawling on the streets overnight. Because of all this he could never form any bonds with Temari nor Kankurou.

He shook his head in a pathetic attempt to stop that voice. _Why don't you listen to me?_

"I don't need you telling me what to do."

_Listen to me. _

It was never silent, not since the day he saw that man—the one that spoke comforts to him and had fake smiles and told him tales of love—not till that day when something began to whisper in his mind. It called itself Mother, and told him to always listen to him because Mother always knew what was best. And he did, but not now.

A while ago, it had been so much easier to listen to Mother: to just rip the insides of a human and watch the blood dripping, like sacred water; and Mother praised him, and didn't hate him as much and he didn't feel so alone, so unwanted. But now, after Uzumaki Naruto proved him wrong and his definition of existence didn't quite fit anymore, now he just wanted it to be quiet.

_Be a good boy and listen to me._

"Hey Gaara," Kankurou said, standing a few feet away from him. His hat was gone and his face free of paint and they looked so much like brothers.

Kankurou looked a lot like Father, Gaara thought, but instantly put that though aside remembering that Father had never loved anyone.

Hesitantly, Kankurou approached Gaara, producing something from his pocket and handing a small round object, wrapped tightly in a napkin. "Here, I know it's not much, but it's better than eating that rabbit food, you've probably been eating for days." Kankurou gave somewhat of a chuckle, as if trying to lessen the mood a bit, but Gaara merely stared at him—a part of him curious that he would willingly approach him, would actually think of him.

The seconds spread out. "If your not…" Kankurou slowly began, probably apologizing for some unintentional insult, but at last, pale fingers took the wrapped bread.

"Thank you."

"Any time," he shrugged, clearly pleased that Gaara hadn't reacted violently. A few minutes passed between them in silence as night quickly approaching and the sky began to dull in color. "So, Temari told me what happened, and I guess I should thank you... for having taken care of her."

"I promised, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

Another silence passed, the sky began to brighten, creating long shadows in the process, and sending soft colors on the black sky. Kankurou stood standing behind Gaara, while the latter continued to stare off into the horizon.

"It's much harder than I thought," Gaara said abruptly, still staring off more like he was voicing his thought than speaking to him.

"What is?"

"Protecting someone," he continued, resting his head on his folded up knees. "I realize that just now. To protect someone means, to sacrifice your free will and a conflict of interest could arise. Something binds you to that person, like a contract that cannot be broken, and your choices have to be drawn carefully to avoid that harm of not only yourself but that of the individual."

Again they were silent until Kankurou cleared his throat. "Yeah…but I guess you kinda change perceptions, ya know?"

"Any what would that be?" Gaara spun his head, examining Kankurou's face for any deception, but for once Kankurou seemed completely serious. These weren't those half baked truths he usually made up when he was around him; for once Kankurou was truly being sincere to him.

"Well, I finally trust you."

There was a silence between them, but it lasted for only a few seconds before Kankurou cleared his throat.

"You know, I thought I hated you," Kankurou continued. "Along time ago, _it_ came out," he said an almost invisible shiver coursing through his spine, "and got Temari really upset, then we were shoved off into the real world. I thought it was your fault, but I see now that I was being stupid. You kept your word and protected Temari, when I doubted you this whole time. And well…what I'm trying to say is that what happened along, long time ago wasn't your fault. You and _it _are two different beings, and I've only just realize that."

The round sun started to peak from below the horizon, slowly climbing the darken sky.

"We've been on so many missions, fought so many enemies, but it was only up till now that we really needed you. And I know that Temari's strong and can fight for herself, but well…you were there when we needed you," he said looking off in the distance, watching the morning come. "And I'm grateful for you having taken care of her."

"Anyway, I guess it's stupid to hold grudges, especially against your siblings, since you're stuck with them for life."

And for once Mother was silent.

* * *

Baki walked down the long white corridors; ignoring the looks of bewilderment he was getting nurses and patience. It seemed that Konoha was in a state of crisis after those two invaders. They wanted to reform the alliance, and have a Hokage standing as quickly as possible. Now he needed to return to Suna to report the current events to the council.

But before he left for the long voyage, he realized he had left something undone.

He entered a closed door, guarded by two ANBU. Immediately they denied him entry, but he reassured them that he would be quick. They seemed hesitant, but perhaps because he was Suna's liaison and Konoha wanted things to go back to normal, they allowed his entry.

He entered a small room, devoid of windows and colored in white. In the middle sat a woman on her bed, an IV in her arm, eyes cast down.

"What do you want?" Yugao looked up when she saw him, perhaps too tired to enact on her revenge.

"I'm not here to lecture you," Baki began standing in front of her. He seemed much taller and powerful then her, able to destroy her in a moment. "I am not here to tell you what is right and wrong. If you want your revenge, then so be it. I'll be ready for you, come at me today, or tomorrow. Hunt me down for years and years, until you slowly start losing those around you until you have nothing left. Just don't ever get one of my students involved in this.

"People die, villages get destroyed, families get separated, but the world does not stop for you. Get on with your life, its just plain stupidity to give up everything for nothing in return."

She didn't know why, but that tone. That tone in his voice spoke volumes, suddenly made her feel so small and insignificant, like a child that had been scowled by their parent. Yugao knew now that everything she had done, all the painstaking labor she had gone through focusing her mind and energy on one task was complete stupid. She bowed her head not bothering to meet his eyes. "You said you understood. Who was it?"

He seemed hesitant to answer her, as though afraid of the old memories that would resurface. But he spoke at last.

"My family."

He had been on a mission when the village was attacked, corpses and shambles and grief plagued the village. He remembered rushing home to a caved house and quickly throwing stone aside believing that his wife would be safe under all that rubble. A part of him knew that she wouldn't have survived, but it was only until he saw her lifeless body did the truth finally settled in.

He lost his wife that day and his unborn son.

And then eight months later he had received a mission of capturing the shinobi that were responsible for attacking the village. But he was so obsessed in his revenge that he didn't' noticed that his teams were ridiculously outnumbered, he didn't notice that most of them were wounded, and that most of them wouldn't be able to make a trip to the desert. But still, despite the cost of his men, despite the cost of the mission and his scarred face, he had achieved his revenge.

He had given up everything for nothing.

The Kazekage was not pleased for his arrogance and mistake, but he still kept him alive. "You were once a great shinobi, teach my children that," the Kazekage had said. The Kazekage wanted Suna strong, and did not mind the cost of his children's happiness and future.

How is it that a man, could be like this? Baki wondered. Whereas he lost his wife and his child, the Kazekage didn't care about his two children, he didn't care about experimenting on his unborn son, he didn't care about risking his wife's life.

He would teach these children to become shinobi and in return move on with his life once and for all.

"I understand," Yugao spoke at last. She did not say anything else.

Baki turned away walking solely in the hospital ward, many of the medics stopping in their track and staring at the foreigner in their hospital, but still Baki continued to walk forward. He passed by a girl with cherry blossom hair, emerald eyes cast down and staring into the lifeless form.

* * *

With Temari back to health in less than three days, things were definitely looking good, though they stumbled upon something very strange. They had been expecting some sort of border patrol considering that they were nearing Rain Country, but after a quick surveillance they found no such thing, rather, by the edge of a river, there lay three border patrol shinobi on the floor, unconscious. There were no external injuries and the surroundings, didn't covey any resistance.

"It must have been some genjutsu," Kankurou responded having come to the conclusion that it wasn't poisoning. Gaara's eyes had narrowed, a somewhat suspicion look crossed his features, but other than that he said nothing.

In the end, they left the bodies, recognizing that for once they weren't forced in some unnecessary battle. And for a moment things were definitely looking towards their favor until Kankurou came back in the evening with a grim look in his face after a short surveillance.

"Well?" Temari asked, looking over to Kankurou, stopping her picking of wild mushrooms. If one good thing came out of Temari, beside her trill of a challenge, it was definitely her wide knowledge in botany.

"Well, Konoha hates our guts –that's for sure. There's ANBU all over the place!"

"ANBU?" Temari thought out loud.. "That's odd."

"What do you mean?"

"Konoha just had a war, so they shouldn't be able to spare shinobi that easily, especially highly skill ANBU. Something must have happened in Konoha for them to have put up this much security."

"Maybe they're still in a mess with Suna," Kankurou offered.

"Maybe," Temari said thinking out loud. "But you know how Konoha is. They're probably willing to listen to negotiations, and well… Sound wasn't useful were probably stuck trying to patch things up. And since we're not that big of a threat anymore, then there wouldn't be that much of a reason to keep such high security around."

She continued thinking for a while, but then shook her head, realizing that they should be more worried about getting home then the problems of Konoha. "I guess we'll have to travel northwest, but cross the border before we reach Rain Country. There shouldn't be too much security, since that area is so remote. From then, it's not too far from Siwa, and we can get supplies. We'll leave tonight…" She looked away from him, finding an old tree branch interesting all of a sudden. "So tell Gaara."

Each night he insisted on keeping watch, and each night he'd disappear to the highest tree branch, coming back in the early hours of the morning.

She asked him what he was doing up there, and he'd say something about a better aerial view, but growing up around Kankurou, she knew when he was lying. This had to do something with Gaara—since he hadn't yelled at them for so long, even through the crappy food—but she still couldn't understand what was going on between them.

As the evening turned into night and the mushroom were roasted, the two siblings sat in silence.

"Those mushrooms better be good than that lichen we had this morning," Kankurou teased making a face.

"I don't see you looking for food," Temari countered, her teal eyes sharpening.

They took a bite from the cooked mushroom, and both had the same reaction.

The mushrooms were bad, rubbery and had a terrible after taste to them. Temari narrowed her eyes and he took it as a sign to shut up. They didn't speak for a few minutes, mostly because chewing that crap was hard enough, but after another two bites Kankurou placed the mushroom to the side.

"Temari, I think he's changing."

"Kankurou," she looked at him, a fret in her voice.

"He's changing. Something must have happened back in Konoha in that fight against that kid."

It was true. She could see that whatever, Uzumaki had said to him had gotten through, much more effective than anything else. She hadn't talked to him, since he saved her from that ambush several days ago, but still there was something about him that was different, like that violent sandstorm that had finally died down.

"Just be careful that's all I'm saying."

* * *

Tall overgrown grass prickled the exposed knees of the several three ANBU that stood watch. Their backs were straight, body set and ready to attack at any moment that seemed out of the ordinary, though it certainly didn't look so. The scene was rather tranquil: the sky was blue, the grass green, and nature stretched out as far as the eye could see. Within another few miles there grew a small woodland, and afterwards the land started to dry until it eventually became nothing more than an ugly stretch of sand and weeds.

Since the invasion of Konoha, there had been teams constantly surveying the border between Wind Country and Fire Country, more so than usual. Of course it was to be expected, no one had seen the invasion until flocks of Sand nin started pounding on the gates of Konoha, and as a result there had been a growing fear that more Sand nin would come thronging to Fire Country. But recently two S-ranked criminals had sneaked into Konoha. Accordingly, one of the criminals had set Kakashi-san and the Uchiha boy into some sort of coma, and had left just as swiftly.

The entire country was in fear from these repeated trespassing, and there was a growing demand to have the Hokage put in his desk. The borders had been close, if only to easy the fear of spooked merchants and federal lords, but as of yet the land was devoid of any travelers.

A breeze flew spraying bits of sand into the green landscape. All at once, the three ANBU looked at one another, nodding in comprehension. One of them—the one with the cat's mask—pulled out a katana, eyes narrowing through her covered mask. The landscape was devoid of any trees or rocks, and it would be easy to spot someone approaching.

Twenty minutes passed in silence, until there was a deep crunch in the air. At once the ANBU stood straight, ready at any moment to attack. The captain met eyes with the cat's mask signaling with his head to go check it out. She nodded, before disappearing silently.

Again the three ANBU were left in silence that is until they suddenly heard something from behind, metal, by the sound of it. Pulling out a weapon one of the ANBU turned around, half expecting to see a kunai, but the fields were empty. He took another step forward, and yelled out in surprised.

An ugly brownish body erupted from the green ground, spraying dirt and grass everywhere. For a moment the captain believed it was a corpse, but when seven long arms wrapped around his subordinate, and he stared at triangle shaped eyes, and jagged missing teeth, it occurred to him that this was a puppet.

The puppet gripped the ANBU tightly, and for a minute the captain feared that his subordinate would become crush. But then he saw with amazement that the puppet drew out a sharp thin needle from within its palm and struck it squarely on the back of its captured prey. The ANBU fell at once on the grass floor, poison engulfing his blood stream.

The puppet stared at the remaining two ANBU, an eerie smile on its face. It shuttered its teeth and joints, sending a 'clank-clank' in the air, opening its mouth and emitting a cloud of purple gas. The gas hissed as it was released, and gather quickly throughout the air with a horrendous smell.

"Cover your mouth!"

The gas was thick in texture making it difficult to breathe and see. They spun around wildly, trying to throw kunai, but failing miserably.

Each one of them ran some distance, trying to get free of the gas. At last it seemed to be clearing, but then he stopped running, throwing two kunai at once.

A girl stood there a smirk on her face as she blocked the flying kunai with an enormous fan, made out of steel and paper and three purple moons.

_Kamaitachi no Jutsu!_

With strength, she pulled back the fan and heaved it forward sending a gush of wind crashing upon him. The wind that had been so soft and soothing this morning was gone and replaced by this cyclone. Skin burned raw from the cold bitter wind, until bits and pieces of his flesh were sliced. He pulled out his sword, striking it to the ground and holding tightly on the handle, trying with all his might not to get pulled away, in a frantic attempt to not get pulled away by the vicious wind, but his hands couldn't grip the katana's blade and he tumbled in the air like some sort of rag doll, consciousness sipping away.

Quickly she turned towards the captain, sending a gust of wind. He managed to dodge, despite the burning sensation still left behind by that smoke. He coughed, tried to stand but felt a wave of nausea and dizziness settle over him. Pulling out kunai, he threw them one by one, but the girl knocked them aside easily with her fan. There was another 'clank-clank' in the air and he turned around to see the puppet standing behind him, its creepy smile sending shivers down his spine.

He jumped a few feet landing in the soft spot of grass and sand.

"Who are you?" he asked. The puppeteer jumped out from the ground, walking a few distance to stand next to the girl.

"We just want to pass," she said, her eyes narrowing as she saw his drawn out katana.

"That's not very, likely. We won't let spies get away that easily. I'll admit that you surprised us with that ambush of yours, but don't think you have the upper hand. More ANBU are coming to… arrest you!"

He looked at her, evidently worried by this, but the girl smirked once again at the ANBU. "Good, you'll be needing medical treatment."

Folding her fan and turning around, the ANBU yelled out in bewilderment as he felt the ground beneath him dissolve. The world around him began to get smaller and smaller, his legs began itching and itching with grains of sand, and with each frantic step he made it became harder and harder to move. It was quicksand.

There was the sound of footsteps as a boy approached the desolated area. He had vivid red hair and black rings around his eyes.

The captain couldn't help but gasp out loud. This boy he had heard of him, the young Sand genin from the Chuunin Exams that had set world records and amazed all the proctors. This team had been captured as they were trying to leave Konoha, and had escaped from the heaviest guarded section of the prison, injured prison guards as well as ANBU.

These Sand genin… they were certainly powerful to have gone against so many obstacles.

The quicksand became harden, just barely reaching his chin. The captain craned his head, noticing a shadow block the blue sky. He saw his third subordinate, her mask off, blood trickling her scalp and cuts and bruises all over her body. A blob of sand was holding her still body.

"Everything went accordingly, Temari," he said, with a voice flat. "However, there appears to be a team approaching."

A lone drop of the woman's blood dripped onto the grass.

"Yes. Thank you, Gaara, for your cooperation," she said uneasily. Kankurou stood behind her, wrapping up Karasu in its bandages. "We should get moving. The enemy is stabilize, and we probably won' t have another element of surprise."

But Gaara still wasn't releasing that woman. He held her tightly in his grip, watching with a sort of wonder as her blood continued to fall down in drops.

"Gaara?" Temari asked, realizing that the sight of blood was making Gaara act this way, just like he had a few days ago when he saw that Leaf chuunin bleeding.

"We should get going another team is coming," Kankurou said mostly directed to Gaara.

Still there was no respond.

"Gaara," Kankurou said leaving Temari's side and walking behind the younger boy. "C'mon let's go."

Gaara didn't respond, still memorize by the drops of blood from this woman.

"Kankurou," Temari muttered, but he ignored it.

"Look, this might be easy for you, but it's dangerous for Temari and me."

And they were back; back to the Forest of Death, back to seeing the three slaughtered Rain shinobi and seeing the sky rain down pools, and pools of blood.

And then—

"Very well," Gaara said dropping the woman to the floor, none too gently. Her ribs were broken, blood oozing underneath her uniform, broken bones and bruises all over her body.

Gaara willed the sand to retreat back into his massive gourd, and slowly walked away from the approaching battle before dashing quickly through the green meadows.

And like always Temari and Kankurou followed behind him.

Two ANBU came approached the deserted meadows. They sprang into action when they saw their fallen comrades. After a quick run of examinations, it was nothing to fatally serious, though the woman was rushed to a medical nin. The captain was trapped within the earth, and he seemed absolutely furious about being so humiliated. At once he asked to go after them.

But the ANBU wearing a wolf's mask shook his head. He had seem those Sand genin—no they weren't really genin, they were much more advanced to be called genin—had captured them that night so long ago, and was certainly impressed by their strength.

"The council wants us to leave those kids alone."

* * *

The air smelled not like the crisp, green leaves of Konoha, rather something old and decaying. Trees were robbed of their green leaves until they stood skinny and naked against the blue sky, its brown branches spraying out, like a hand asking for food. A heap of logs sat overhead, the wood tender and breaking off easily to a colony of fat, white worms. Fluffy bunnies and other cute creatures were gone and replaced with annoying bugs that eagerly buzzed to their skin, until they were swat away. Where there were large green canopies that provided shade, sunlight penetrated through the trees beating down on the ground.

But still they ran not once looking back; for fear that they would be caught and dragged away. The sound of their footsteps overpowered that of their beating hearts, and when legs got tired and a stitch was trying to slow them down, they ignored it; threw it behind them and kept running with all might. Because they were just so close.

So close to seeing the red sand and red sun that their physique was forgotten for a moment for the sake of seeing that stretch of land and sky.

Trees grew less and less until they were gone, grass sprouted in different arrangements becoming nothing more than yellow weeds, and the wind blew and blew shuffling their hair and roughly caressing their skin.

"Stop," Gaara said. He was further along of them, his gourd bobbling up and down with his movements. Temari and Kankurou stopped, sucking the air to their empty lungs, both their faces red and sweaty from the run. Kankurou fell to a heap on the floor, still gasping for oxygen and hastily drinking the canteen of water Temari handed over to him.

"I can't believe we got pass them," Kankurou spoke, grinning at their accomplishment.

"Yeah, but we still have to keep moving," Temari spoke, ruining Kankurou short moment of glory. She looked to Gaara, noticing a conflict growing within him. Her eyes met with Kankurou, both of them understand what was wrong with their youngest brother.

_More blood could have been drawn! Why did you stop! _

Again Mother spoke to him, urging him to go back and kill that woman, wanting so desperately to see more blood. The voice continued to echo in his head, each second louder and louder until he felt his head aching in pain.

"Gaara?" Kankurou asked. "C'mon lets get going."

Gaara looked up at him, Mother's voice suddenly disappearing, slowly walking out and stopping as they reached the top of a hill. The three Sand shinobi stood speechless watching the landscape in from of them.

What remained of grass there was nearly nothing more. The land was hard and flat, stretching infinitely towards the sky, rocky plateaus hung farther down in the horizon while the red sun continued to shine without mercy.

Fire Country swarm with rich vegetation, plenty of water, and comfortable weather, but the Wind Country was anything but that. The land was sterile and dry, its inhabitants fighting for what little the land gave, and constantly fighting a never-ending battle against Mother Nature.

No one in their right mind would think of moving further along, of willfully walking into sand and wind and the blazing sun. Of coming into the clutched of poisoned snakes and scorpion, where one could step so easily. Of coming to a land where the black vultures awaited to eat flesh and the hungry wolves howled in the night. This land where drought and disease awaited them, and there seemed to be no hope.

But to them it didn't matter how other people viewed their country. Because to them, the people who embraced and fought against the clutches of Mother Nature, only they could miss this ugly, forsaken land and only they could view the desert as a beauty.

They took the first step, their weight sinking in a pudding of sand; and for the first time, they truly, truly felt safe.

* * *


End file.
